There is no denying winning is in Hailey Van Lith’s DNA. It’s not simply that she reached an NCAA Elite Eight every season of her five-year collegiate career. It’s that she did it with three different programs in differing roles each time.
“I’m very willing and open to adapting and that’s necessary for the next level,” Van Lith said after the Sweet 16 round in the Birmingham 3 regional. “I think [WNBA teams] are seeing that in me at this point, that I’m willing to morph and restructure myself to help any program win. And so I really hope they see value in there.”
[WNBA Mock Draft 2.0: Where things stand with Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen]
Van Lith, a 5-foot-9 combo guard, began her career at Louisville for three seasons before transferring to LSU for 2023-24 and TCU for her extra COVID eligibility year. She is en route to another new spot when she’s likely to hear her name called in Monday’s WNBA Draft (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The stock of the fringe first-round pick rose this season while playing confidently in a pro-style TCU system alongside center Sedona Prince, who also entered the draft after seven collegiate seasons. Van Lith’s sheer ability to win everywhere she’s played has certainly helped her standing on draft boards.
“Winners are important to us,” Dallas Wings executive vice president and general manager Curt Miller said on a call with reporters. “When you relay it to this draft class or to Hailey, I think it resonates with all of us GMs that we value winning. We want to add winning and competitiveness to all our locker rooms.”
The Wings have the No. 1 pick, where they’re projected to select UConn’s Paige Bueckers, as well as the Nos. 12 and 14 picks, which are more likely in the area of the draft where Van Lith will be drafted.
Van Lith came into Louisville head coach Jeff Walz’s system as a prolific scorer who broke every major record at Cashmere (Wash.) High School, including points (52) and made 3-pointers (12) in a single game before her senior year. While leading Cashmere to the 1A championship, she averaged 33.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
That remained her role as a Cardinal, and she earned watch-list honors for all the major awards, led Louisville to the 2021 Final Four and joined Iowa’s Caitlin Clark as the only players in the Power Five conferences to average at least 19 points, four rebounds and three assists per game.
But after a 12-loss season ended in 2023, Van Lith entered the transfer portal to join LSU, head coach Kim Mulkey and the budding superteam of the then-reigning champions. Her stat line dropped (11.6 points and 3.6 assists per game) while trying to learn point guard in a system that didn’t fit her style. Ahead of LSU’s Elite Eight game, Van Lith took the critiques in stride.
“I would rather be known as a winner than a scorer because at the end of the day, if all you’re going to ask me to do is score, that’s something that I can definitely do,” Van Lith said at the 2024 Albany regional.
LSU lost to Iowa in the Elite Eight in a difficult defensive game for Van Lith. She struggled to contain Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, as the primary defender without any help, and her readiness for the next level was further questioned. While she mulled over her next move, memes sprang up all over the internet.
Instead of entering the WNBA Draft in 2024, she transferred again. Injuries sank TCU’s 2023-24 season, but the team showed promise with its large transfer class. Van Lith told reporters she was ready for the next level, but didn’t feel the need to rush.
“I wanted a year of college where I loved where I was at, and I loved who I was around, and I loved who I was when I was there,” Van Lith said.
Her prior experiences, which she described as both “wanted and unexpected,” helped her evolve into a leader who looks out for her teammates and lives the ethos of a true point guard. Van Lith said she learned the value of personal relationships and bringing the best out of teammates to reach a common goal. It was different than taking over scoring bursts at Louisville or fading into a mesh of talented future WNBA players at LSU.
“You can have stellar individual performances, but if you don’t have at least a few people to step in behind you, you’re going to lose at the end of the day,” Van Lith said.
She worked on her confidence throughout the year — a continuation of her mental evolution at LSU — and began opening up more to coaches and teammates, eventually leading a historic Horned Frogs run to the Elite Eight.
“My guess was probably there was a little bit of a protection wall that was up,” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said. “To see that come down and to see her pour into her teammates and her teammates pour into her, Hailey has just allowed me to really get to know her and coach her. She’s been vulnerable with all of us. Once she realized there was a real safe space for her, it’s been so neat to watch her blossom.”
Toward the end of the season, she felt it was the right time to use her platform and be more open about the depths of her mental health journey she had yet to share.
“Her coming into her own now, she’s grown into her game, she’s grown into herself, she’s so wise and such a great teammate,” Prince told Yahoo Sports. “On and off the court, she’s the best teammate I’ve ever had.”
Van Lith’s year-long public evolution from that final LSU game really began ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she represented Team USA on the 3×3 team with current and former WNBA players Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby (Sparks) and Rhyne Howard (Dream). Any weakness in a player’s game is exposed in 3×3, which requires well-rounded skill sets over specialized ones to succeed.
“All the things you would want to get better at, 3×3 gives you the opportunity,” Van Lith said at WNBA All-Star weekend in July where the 3×3 team scrimmaged at halftime. “That’s why I keep playing it, honestly, is because it’s going to make me such a better player in the long run. And I think we’ve seen that with [the 2021] Olympic team and how some of their careers have really just exploded since.”
Stefanie Dolson credited the format when she won her first WNBA title with Chicago in 2021, months after winning 3×3 Olympic gold. Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young went on to have two of their best WNBA seasons, leading the Aces to back-to-back championships from 2022-23. Allisha Gray’s game took off in Atlanta, leading to a sweep of the All-Star skills and 3-point competition last summer.
Van Lith said during the NCAA tournament playing in the Olympics gave her a “little bit of flow back” and she led the Americans to a bronze medal with a team-high 47 total points and 13 assists. The medal joins two youth FIBA golds in 3×3 and the 2023 Women’s World Cup gold.
From there, she joined TCU preseason camps and adjusted to another new system, a fresh set of teammates and a coach who had his own ideas for who Van Lith should be for the Frogs to succeed. Van Lith compromised with Campbell, the second-year head coach who attempted to recruit the high schooler to Oregon when he was an assistant. It worked.
“He 100% played a huge role in me falling back into a really comfortable place of knowing who I am and me really nailing down my identity,” Van Lith said.
The name plate on the front changed twice in college and will do so again, should she make the final roster cuts next month in the WNBA. What hasn’t is the name on the back, one of a player who developed an ability to adapt and grow into a pro.
There is no denying winning is in Hailey Van Lith’s DNA. It’s not simply that she reached an NCAA Elite Eight every season of her five-year collegiate career. It’s that she did it with three different programs in differing roles each time.
“I’m very willing and open to adapting and that’s necessary for the next level,” Van Lith said after the Sweet 16 round in the Birmingham 3 regional. “I think [WNBA teams] are seeing that in me at this point, that I’m willing to morph and restructure myself to help any program win. And so I really hope they see value in there.”
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[WNBA Mock Draft 2.0: Where things stand with Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen]
Van Lith, a 5-foot-9 combo guard, began her career at Louisville for three seasons before transferring to LSU for 2023-24 and TCU for her extra COVID eligibility year. She is en route to another new spot when she’s likely to hear her name called in Monday’s WNBA Draft (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The stock of the fringe first-round pick rose this season while playing confidently in a pro-style TCU system alongside center Sedona Prince, who also entered the draft after seven collegiate seasons. Van Lith’s sheer ability to win everywhere she’s played has certainly helped her standing on draft boards.
“Winners are important to us,” Dallas Wings executive vice president and general manager Curt Miller said on a call with reporters. “When you relay it to this draft class or to Hailey, I think it resonates with all of us GMs that we value winning. We want to add winning and competitiveness to all our locker rooms.”
The Wings have the No. 1 pick, where they’re projected to select UConn’s Paige Bueckers, as well as the Nos. 12 and 14 picks, which are more likely in the area of the draft where Van Lith will be drafted.
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Van Lith came into Louisville head coach Jeff Walz’s system as a prolific scorer who broke every major record at Cashmere (Wash.) High School, including points (52) and made 3-pointers (12) in a single game before her senior year. While leading Cashmere to the 1A championship, she averaged 33.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
That remained her role as a Cardinal, and she earned watch-list honors for all the major awards, led Louisville to the 2021 Final Four and joined Iowa’s Caitlin Clark as the only players in the Power Five conferences to average at least 19 points, four rebounds and three assists per game.
But after a 12-loss season ended in 2023, Van Lith entered the transfer portal to join LSU, head coach Kim Mulkey and the budding superteam of the then-reigning champions. Her stat line dropped (11.6 points and 3.6 assists per game) while trying to learn point guard in a system that didn’t fit her style. Ahead of LSU’s Elite Eight game, Van Lith took the critiques in stride.
“I would rather be known as a winner than a scorer because at the end of the day, if all you’re going to ask me to do is score, that’s something that I can definitely do,” Van Lith said at the 2024 Albany regional.
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LSU lost to Iowa in the Elite Eight in a difficult defensive game for Van Lith. She struggled to contain Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, as the primary defender without any help, and her readiness for the next level was further questioned. While she mulled over her next move, memes sprang up all over the internet.
Instead of entering the WNBA Draft in 2024, she transferred again. Injuries sank TCU’s 2023-24 season, but the team showed promise with its large transfer class. Van Lith told reporters she was ready for the next level, but didn’t feel the need to rush.
“I wanted a year of college where I loved where I was at, and I loved who I was around, and I loved who I was when I was there,” Van Lith said.
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Her prior experiences, which she described as both “wanted and unexpected,” helped her evolve into a leader who looks out for her teammates and lives the ethos of a true point guard. Van Lith said she learned the value of personal relationships and bringing the best out of teammates to reach a common goal. It was different than taking over scoring bursts at Louisville or fading into a mesh of talented future WNBA players at LSU.
“You can have stellar individual performances, but if you don’t have at least a few people to step in behind you, you’re going to lose at the end of the day,” Van Lith said.
She worked on her confidence throughout the year — a continuation of her mental evolution at LSU — and began opening up more to coaches and teammates, eventually leading a historic Horned Frogs run to the Elite Eight.
“My guess was probably there was a little bit of a protection wall that was up,” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said. “To see that come down and to see her pour into her teammates and her teammates pour into her, Hailey has just allowed me to really get to know her and coach her. She’s been vulnerable with all of us. Once she realized there was a real safe space for her, it’s been so neat to watch her blossom.”
Advertisement
Toward the end of the season, she felt it was the right time to use her platform and be more open about the depths of her mental health journey she had yet to share.
“Her coming into her own now, she’s grown into her game, she’s grown into herself, she’s so wise and such a great teammate,” Prince told Yahoo Sports. “On and off the court, she’s the best teammate I’ve ever had.”
Van Lith’s year-long public evolution from that final LSU game really began ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she represented Team USA on the 3×3 team with current and former WNBA players Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby (Sparks) and Rhyne Howard (Dream). Any weakness in a player’s game is exposed in 3×3, which requires well-rounded skill sets over specialized ones to succeed.
“All the things you would want to get better at, 3×3 gives you the opportunity,” Van Lith said at WNBA All-Star weekend in July where the 3×3 team scrimmaged at halftime. “That’s why I keep playing it, honestly, is because it’s going to make me such a better player in the long run. And I think we’ve seen that with [the 2021] Olympic team and how some of their careers have really just exploded since.”
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Stefanie Dolson credited the format when she won her first WNBA title with Chicago in 2021, months after winning 3×3 Olympic gold. Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young went on to have two of their best WNBA seasons, leading the Aces to back-to-back championships from 2022-23. Allisha Gray’s game took off in Atlanta, leading to a sweep of the All-Star skills and 3-point competition last summer.
Van Lith said during the NCAA tournament playing in the Olympics gave her a “little bit of flow back” and she led the Americans to a bronze medal with a team-high 47 total points and 13 assists. The medal joins two youth FIBA golds in 3×3 and the 2023 Women’s World Cup gold.
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From there, she joined TCU preseason camps and adjusted to another new system, a fresh set of teammates and a coach who had his own ideas for who Van Lith should be for the Frogs to succeed. Van Lith compromised with Campbell, the second-year head coach who attempted to recruit the high schooler to Oregon when he was an assistant. It worked.
“He 100% played a huge role in me falling back into a really comfortable place of knowing who I am and me really nailing down my identity,” Van Lith said.
The name plate on the front changed twice in college and will do so again, should she make the final roster cuts next month in the WNBA. What hasn’t is the name on the back, one of a player who developed an ability to adapt and grow into a pro.
