Kate Koval will join Baylor after the NCAA granted her permission to transfer outside the regular portal window. Baylor announced the addition Saturday, but a team spokesperson said her immediate eligibility had not been determined because classes began in late August.
The 6-foot-5 center departed LSU after the school brought in Anna Minaeva, a Russian player who has professional experience in Moscow. Koval, who is from Kyiv, Ukraine, said her father serves in the Ukrainian military.
In a social media appeal for NCAA approval, she wrote, “People close to me have been killed and wounded in Russian attacks, and places where I grew up and first began playing basketball have been destroyed by missile strikes.”
NCAA rules permit an out-of-window move when an urgent circumstance outside an athlete’s control calls for an immediate departure and is unrelated to athletic opportunities or participation at the current school. Baylor went 25-9 last season, retained most of its roster through the portal and graduated four starters. Coach Nicki Collen is entering her sixth season in Waco.
The Bears had signed three transfers and had no freshman recruit in the incoming class. Koval is expected to play with leading scorer Taliah Scott, who averaged 20 points per game, and Marcayla Johnson. She will be Baylor’s second 6-foot-5 player, alongside January transfer Lorena Awou.
