The NCAA has approved Kate Koval’s transfer to Baylor, allowing the 6-foot-5 center to join the program after the regular transfer period closed. Baylor announced the addition Saturday. A team spokesperson said her immediate playing status had not been determined, with classes having started in late August.
Koval, who is from Kyiv, Ukraine, left LSU after the school added Anna Minaeva, a Russian player who has professional experience in Moscow. Koval said her father serves in the Ukrainian military. In a social media appeal for NCAA approval, she wrote that Russian attacks had killed or wounded people close to her and destroyed locations tied to her childhood and early basketball development.
NCAA rules permit an out-of-window transfer when an urgent circumstance outside an athlete’s control requires an immediate departure and is unrelated to athletic opportunities or participation at the current school. Baylor is reshaping its roster for coach Nicki Collen’s sixth season in Waco after going 25-9 last season, retaining most players who entered the portal and graduating four starters.
The Bears had signed three transfers and had no freshman recruit in the incoming class.
Koval is expected to join last season’s 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 of NC State. Collen said Koval’s perimeter scoring, passing and defense could expand the offense and improve interior protection. The report was published by nytimes.com.
