Baylor announced Saturday that 6-foot-5 center Kate Koval will join the program after receiving an NCAA waiver to transfer outside the regular portal window. A team spokesperson said it was unclear whether she could play immediately, since classes began in late August.
Koval departed LSU after the school added Anna Minaeva, a Russian player who had professional experience in Moscow. Koval is from Kyiv, and she has said her father serves in the Ukrainian military.
After the portal closed, she sought NCAA permission publicly, writing that people close to her had been killed or injured in Russian attacks and that missile strikes destroyed places tied to her childhood and early basketball development.
NCAA rules permit an outside-the-window move when an urgent circumstance, unrelated to athletic opportunities or participation at the current school, makes an immediate departure necessary and is outside the athlete’s control. Koval joins a Baylor team that went 25-9 last season and graduated four starters while retaining most of its players through the portal. Coach Nicki Collen is entering her sixth season in Waco.
Koval is expected to play with leading scorer Taliah Scott and Marcayla Johnson, and become the roster’s second 6-foot-5 player alongside Lorena Awou. Collen said Koval’s shooting and passing could expand the offense, while her defense could help inside. The report was published by nytimes.com.