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 defections leave Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey with three scholarship returnees — all guards — two-time, first-team All-American Hannah Hidalgo, Canadian Olympian Cass Prosper and 2024-25 redshirt KK Bransford. ND’s lone high school signee, 6-3 forward and McDonald’s All-American Leah Macy, suffered a knee injury late in her high school senior season and may not play in 2025-26.
Koval played in 32 of the 34 games this season as a freshman for Notre Dame, starting 10. The No. 5 recruit overall and No. 1 center in the 2024 class, per ESPNw, averaged 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Koval shot .451 from the field and .697 from the free-throw line. She led the Irish in blocked shots with 55, despite only logging an average of roughly 18 minutes a game.
Notre Dame is looking to add from the transfer portal, with the deadline for women’s college basketball players to enter it being April 23. Players can select schools after the portal window closes, but that is the deadline to submit their names.
The Irish lost starters Maddy Westbeld, Sonia Citron and Liatu King to expired eligibility, as well as key reserve Liza Karlen and former walk-on Sarah Cernugel.
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