Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the two countries have been fighting a war ever since. Mulkey has been aware of how personal the situation is for Koval. Last year, the coach stated the team had changed the name of their “Russian Rebounding Drill” to the “Ukraine Rebounding Drill” after a request from Koval.

While Mulkey did not confirm whether or not adding the Russian-born Minaeva was the reason for Koval’s departure, she knew this could be an uncomfortable situation. Before LSU started recruiting Minaeva, Mulkey stated she had a conversation with Koval about it.

“I want you to understand I’m not here to ask you to change how you feel about Russia,” Mulkey recalls telling Koval, per Nola.com. “I’m just here out of respect for your family and out of respect for you to let you know. Because I know how personal it is for you.

“Know that what I have to do in this business, I cannot make a decision to not recruit somebody that can help our program because of a conflict between two countries.”

Nola.com stated LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey also sat down with Koval before recruiting Minaeva. 

Reportedly, Mulkey hoped Koval and Minaeva could be “ambassadors” for kindship and suggested that “you never know” perhaps the two players as teammates could help end the war.

“And she just kind of smiled and stated, ‘I doubt that,'” Mulkey recounted.

Koval played for Notre Dame her freshman year before transferring to LSU. The 6-foot-5 center started in 17 games for the Tigers last season and averaged 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Koval still has two seasons of eligibility remaining, but since the transfer portal is not currently open, Koval will likely have to wait until April to join a new team.