Poole no longer part of LSU's team, Mulkey says

Kateri Poole is no longer a part of the LSU women’s basketball team, according to coach Kim Mulkey.

The 5-foot-8 junior guard appeared in four games this season for the No. 7 Tigers. She did not play Nov. 14 against Kent State due to a “coach’s decision,” saw the floor for five minutes the next game against Southeastern Louisiana and was last on the bench with LSU against Texas Southern, though she did not take the floor.

“She’s no longer with us,” Mulkey told reporters Sunday after the Tigers’ 83-53 win over Louisiana. Mulkey would not comment on whether Poole’s departure was a dismissal or mutual parting.

LSU star forward Angel Reese, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 women’s NCAA tournament, also missed four games in November for undisclosed reasons, returning Nov. 30 against Virginia Tech. Mulkey has gone as far as to say the team was dealing with “locker room issues.”

Poole, who started for the Tigers during their national championship run last season, began her college career at Ohio State, where she played for two seasons.

She averaged 4.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 22.4 minutes in 2022-23, her first season in Baton Rouge, and 2.0 points, 1.5 assists and 12.5 minutes in four games this season.

LSU will also be without Sa’Myah Smith for the rest of the season after she suffered a season-ending knee injury a few weeks ago in the Cayman Islands.