Baylor added 6-foot-5 center Kate Koval on Saturday after the NCAA granted her permission to transfer outside the regular portal period. A team spokesperson said it was not yet known whether Koval could play right away because classes started in late August.
Koval is from Kyiv, Ukraine, and said her father serves in the Ukrainian military. She sought the waiver after leaving LSU, which had added Anna Minaeva, a Russian player with professional experience in Moscow.
Koval announced her departure after the portal closed and appealed publicly to the NCAA. “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,” she wrote on social media.
The NCAA permits transfers outside the normal window when an urgent circumstance beyond an athlete’s control requires an immediate move and is unrelated to athletic opportunities or participation at the current school. The approval enabled Koval to choose another program after the regular transfer period.
Baylor finished 25-9 last season and is entering Nicki Collen’s sixth year as coach. Most of the team stayed through the portal, while four starters graduated. The Bears had signed three transfers and had no freshman recruit.
