Kate Koval

Kateryna "Kate" Koval (born 13 January 2006) is a Ukrainian college basketball player who most recently played for the LSU Tigers. She previously played for Notre Dame.

Early life and high school career Koval was born to Oleksandr and Natalia Koval in Kyiv, Ukraine. Growing up she performed ballet and played basketball. She moved to the United States in 2021 to attend Long Island Lutheran High School and play basketball. She lived in Queens, New York with her host mom, Islande Blaise.

Koval attended Long Island Lutheran High School. During her junior year she averaged 15.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. Following the season she was named New York Gatorade Player of the Year. She was a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 5 overall recruit, and the No. 1 post player, in the 2024 class according to ESPN HoopGurlz recruiting rankings. She was selected to compete at the (2024 McDonald's All-American Girls Game, Nike Hoop Summit and Jordan Brand Classic.

College career On 14 November 2023, Koval committed to play college basketball at Notre Dame. During the 2024–25 season, in her freshman year, she played in 32 games, with ten starts, and averaged 5.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Her 55 blocks ranks fourth in program history by a freshman. On 13 November 2024, in a game against James Madison, she scored 14 points, 16 rebounds, and six blocks, for her first career double-double. On 17 November 2024, in a game against Lafayette, she scored 11 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and seven blocks, for her second consecutive double-double. Her seven blocks were the most by a Notre Dame player since Brianna Turner in 2017. She averaged 12.5 points, 17.5 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game and was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for the week ending 18 November 2024. Following the season she was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.

On 7 April 2025, Koval transferred to LSU. During the 2025–26 season, in her sophomore year, she appeared in 35 games, with 17 starts, and averaged 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. On 24 August 2026, LSU announced that Koval was leaving the program due to personal reasons. The announcement came two weeks after LSU signed Russian player Anna Minaeva.

National team career Koval represented Ukraine at the 2021 FIBA U16 European Challengers and averaged a double-double of 26 points and 14.2 rebounds per game in five games.

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