Kate Koval averaged 8.3 points per game last season
Ukrainian basketball player Kate Koval has left Louisiana State University’s women’s basketball programme after the team signed Russian player Anna Minaeva, saying Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine made the decision deeply personal.
Koval, who was expected to play a key role for LSU this season, announced her departure in a statement posted on Instagram on Friday after the university had initially described her exit as being for “personal reasons.”
“At the conclusion of last season, I fully intended to return and continue my collegiate career at LSU. However, in April, several days after the transfer portal had closed, I was informed of the decision to sign a Russian player,” Koval wrote.
The 20-year-old said her connection to the war made it impossible for her to treat the signing as an ordinary roster decision.
