The roller coaster year for the LSU Lady Tigers isn’t losing momentum anytime soon. Junior guard Kateri Poole is no longer with the team.
LSU has made national headlines recently with the sudden benching of its biggest star, Angel Reese, and head coach Kim Mulkey’s response to questions about Reese’s whereabouts. Reese returned to the lineup in late November after a brief mental health break, but that hasn’t shifted the spotlight from the team.
Now, additional questions are brewing, including one that doesn’t quite have an answer: why is Kateri Poole no longer with the team?
Poole was a critical reason that LSU won a national championship last season and a part of Angel Reese’s decision to spend her time playing in the Bayou.
Here’s everything we know about the guard’s exit from LSU:
Things were possibly starting to shift when Poole did not play against Kent State
On November 14, Angel Reese was benched during the second half of a win against Kent State. But, something that likely went under the radar to many was that Poole did not play any minutes at all.
Head Coach Kim Mulkey at the time chalked it up to the matchup.
Asked about Angel Reese not playing in second half and Kateri Poole not playing at all today, Kim Mulkey said she liked the matchup with who she had out there against Kent State.#LSU
— Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) November 14, 2023
Poole returned for a November 17 game against Southeastern Louisiana State, but was not seen in any recent games after
The Lady Tigers picked up another win against Southeastern Louisiana State, but Poole played just five minutes.
In that span, she didn’t score any field goals and only made one of her two free throws.
On November 29, when Reese returned, Mulkey gave a quick update
As Reese came back to the court, Mulkey gave a very brief update on Poole but did not provide any in-depth details.
🚨 Kim Mulkey announced on Thursday that Angel Reese is back and will play tomorrow, Kateri Poole is not back yet, and Sa'Maya Smith is out for the season with a torn ACL.
— LSU Tiger TV (@lsutigertv) November 29, 2023
Kim Mulkey:
Angel Reese is back on the team
Kateri Poole is out.
Sa'Mayah Smith is done for the year with a knee injury. Surgery in about three weeks.#LSU— Scott Rabalais (@RabalaisAdv) November 29, 2023
Mulkey confirmed on December 10 that Poole was no longer on the team
Much like Angel Reese’s absence, Mulkey did not provide any context or clarity to Poole’s exit, only confirming the departure when questioned by local media.
“She’s no longer with us,” Mulkey responded.
@overtimewbb Hoping to still see some big things coming from Kateri 🤞
“She’s no longer on the team” Coach Kim Mulkey stated about the absence of former LSU guard Kateri Poole. pic.twitter.com/F5W7TJ7ZMY
— LSU Tiger TV (@lsutigertv) December 10, 2023
Poole has been largely silent on the ordeal, but did recently post a "thank you" to LSU
#LSU guard Kateri Poole is no longer with the women’s basketball program, Kim Mulkey confirmed on Sunday.
Poole, a key piece to the Tigers’ National Championship run, shared this photo via her Instagram. #LSU is now down to 10 scholarship players with Poole dismissed. pic.twitter.com/znjqXVMnxV
— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) December 11, 2023
Angel Reese shared her gratitude for Poole, saying "Forever my dawg! You know I love you."
#LSU Angel Reese shows support for Kateri Poole after Mulkey said that Poole is no longer with the team pic.twitter.com/4P0vyEI2H9
— Jeannie (@jeanniebrichett) December 11, 2023
