Ukraine's Koval joins new team after Russia controversy

Ukrainian basketball player Kate Koval has joined a new college team after leaving Louisiana State University because they had signed a Russian player.

Koval, 20, was granted a transfer waiver by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the request of LSU.

The waiver allowed Koval to join a new team despite the transfer window closing in April, and she has signed with Baylor University in Texas.

Koval played in all 35 of LSU's matches last season, averaging 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

But following the arrival of 17-year-old Anna Minaeva, it was announced that Koval had departed for "personal reasons" after her first season.

Koval then said that Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine was why she stepped away.

"My father serves in the Ukrainian military and takes tremendous pride in defending his country against Russian aggression," she wrote on Instagram.

"For me, this war is not distant or abstract. 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.

"The timing of this situation and the deep personal effect it has had on me, my family and those we care about who continue to live through and fight this war ultimately made me question whether LSU remained the right place for me."

Student athletes can only be granted transfer waivers outside the window by the NCAA for extenuating circumstances or events unrelated to the sport that are out of the individual's control.

The event must have occurred after the student-athlete's most recent opportunity to be entered into the NCAA transfer portal had closed.

BBC Sport has contacted LSU to confirm under which terms the waiver was requested.