It took less than a week from Kate Koval’s serious April Fool’s Day announcement about leaving the Notre Dame women’s basketball program to landing at another one with a rich pedigree.
On Monday the former Irish freshman center announced via social media she’ll be transferring to LSU. The Tigers (31-6) finished No. 8 in the post-NCAA Tourney AP poll, two spots ahead of Notre Dame (28-6), which stalled in the Sweet 16 for the fourth March in a row.
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LSU reached the Elite Eight in the just completed tourney, losing to UCLA 72-65 in a regional final. The Tigers, under coach Kim Mulkey, won the NCAA title two seasons ago.
Mulkey also won three titles while coaching at Baylor, two of them by beating Notre Dame in the title game (2012 and 2019).
As for Koval, a 6-foot-5 center from Ukraine who played her high school ball at Long Island (N.Y.) Lutheran, she is the first of ND’s four outgoing transfers to announce her transfer destination.
All-America guard Olivia Miles, reserve guard Emma Risch and reserve center Kylee Watson all entered the transfer portal shortly after the Irish lost to TCU, 71-62, in Birmingham, Ala., on March 29. All four, including Koval, are former McDonald's All-Americans.
The ...
