When Hailey Van Lith transferred to LSU to chase a national championship, elevate her draft stock and learn to be “a point guard” from head coach Kim Mulkey, her entire season there, after transferring from Louisville, where she just led them to the Final Four, came at a price.
While she always supported her sisters, it was the Angel Reese era, and Flau’jae Johnson was just bum rushing college hoops with all of her celebrity as well. Van Lith’s game was a shell of what it was at Louisville, and everyone noticed it. She was blamed for the 41-point, 12 assist scorching Caitlin Clark put on LSU in a disappointing defeat to Iowa in the 2024 Elite Eight.
It appeared as if her draft stock was almost off the board. Dropping the first three games of the Women’s 3v3 at the Olympics and scraping to a bronze medal didn’t help to raise her profile as a potential pro. Her transfer from LSU was no surprise, but it was her second location in as many seasons, and it seemed like her WNBA dreams weren’t looking too clear.
Haily Van Lith Redemption: Leads TCU To First Big 12 Title
Fast-forward to Sunday night, and Van Lith has not only worked herself back on and up the 2025 WNBA draft board, but she’s at TCU doing serious damage and winning big-time games. Over the weekend, Van Lith’s TCU Horned Frogs took down juggernaut Baylor in a 51-48 victory that clinched the program’s first regular-season Big 12 title.
Van Lith’s time in Dallas with the TCU Horned Frogs has exceeded expectations and she made history. Van Lith is in her final year of eligibility and at her third school and is having her best season since earning first-team All-ACC honors at Louisville, averaging 17.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.
Fans were happy to see Van Lith on top again, and some blamed LSU for her setbacks.
“LSU tried to ruin her,” said one fan.
Some fans wanted to see her hook back up with Reese in Chicago with the Sky.
“If the sky were paying attention, they’d realize HVL is a perfect fit for y’all and they’d draft her with their 1st round pick, but they’ll probably listen to the media who isn’t extremely fond of HVL, she’s one of the best guards in the draft and would be a steal,” the fan said.
Van Lith has her first opportunity to grab the national spotlight as the 10th-ranked Horned Frogs gear up for the Big 12 Tournament as a top seed before trying to make more magic and shake some things up in the NCAA Tournament.
WNBA Star Angel Reese Shouts Out Former LSU Teammate
Reese‘s shadow loomed large during her time at LSU. It was Bayou Barbie’s team, and everyone else was just trying to fit in. Van Lith did her best and also maintained a solid relationship with Reese, who eventually fell out with Johnson and her mother in an internet spat. Reese shouted out her ex-teammate’s recent accomplishments
Hailey Van Lith and TCU Slept On In Star-Studded Women’s Basketball Field
With all of the power teams in women’s hoops and the big names from Paige Bueckers to JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, Flau’Jae, and the list goes on, the Horned Frogs (28-3, 16-2) have gotten lost in the sauce. They ended the regular season with a 6-2 record against Top 25 teams and set program records for wins and conference wins. The conference title came just two seasons after the Horned Frogs finished in the cellar.
Talk about a program changer. Van Lith needed to find her confidence that she could be a team leader and general again after playing the good soldier for a season. She’s a champion and seasoned and brings character and veteran leadership to Baylor.
“Baylor’s been the powerhouse, the juggernaut in our league for a long time,” TCU coach Mark Campbell told reporters after the game. “So to beat them in this environment for this kind of game, it just shows you that our program’s arrived at the highest level in college basketball. … This win carries a lot of significance for many reasons.”
Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince: Lethal Inside-Outside Combo For TCU
Van Lith and towering center Sedona Prince are a lethal 1-2 punch for TCU. Prince led TCU with 16 points and 19 rebounds while Van Lith dropped 14 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in the three-point win.
After the game, TCU shared a photo of Van Lith holding the Big 12 title trophy with the caption, “one of one.”
TCU will get a few days to chill, while the winner of a first-round game between Colorado and Houston faces Arizona State for the right to play the Horned Frogs in a quarterfinal matchup Friday, March 7.
What Happened With Van Lith at LSU?
The feisty, sharp-shooting guard, who transferred to Baton Rouge from Louisville to elevate her status in college hoops and join the national champions, had three elite seasons with the Cardinals, averaging 15.4 points on 13.2 shots per game and developing a reputation as a marksman.
Upon arrival, she was supposed to add another dimension to LSU and a strong complementary perimeter and play-making piece to an offense predicated on the post contributions of first option All-American Reese.
But the partnership did not work out as planned for either party. The more athletic Flau’Jae Johnson was clearly going to get more freedom off-ball, with Van Lith shifting to point guard. Though she tried her best to be a team player, supported Kim Mulkey and her teammates throughout all of the drama that transcended the basketball court, it was clear that Van Lith wasn’t comfortable playing third fiddle.
Kim Mulkey Addressed Van Lith’s Struggles
Mulkey addressed the failed one-year experiment after news of Van Lith transferring out of LSU for her final season surfaced.
“She had to embrace a change in her mindset of not shooting it 20-30 times a game, but finding who’s open and getting them the ball,” Mulkey said. “And sometimes it was hard because she would be pressured, and she’d be pounding the heck out of that ball.”
So while her teammates soared, she suffered, posting just 11.6 points on 9.9 shots per game with the Tigers.
Her deft shooting took a dive from 42.2 percent to just 37.8 percent. Her three-point shooting was about the same (33.7 to 33.9 percent).
Mulkey Says Having Point Guard Skills Is Van Lith’s Only Hope Of Playing In “W”
The 5-foot-4 Mulkey knows a thing or two about undersized guards doing big things, The championship coach was also an All-America point guard at Louisiana Tech University back in the day, winning two national championships as a player: the AIAW title in 1981 and the inaugural NCAA title in 1982.
RELATED: Is LSU Coach Kim Mulkey Hating Or Showing Players Like Angel Reese Who’s Really In Charge?
“She wanted to improve her strengths by coming to LSU with a goal of expanding her game by learning a position that I played my entire life,” Mulkey said, per Nola.com, “because she knows at the next level that’s her only chance — to be able to tell them somewhat, ‘I can handle the ball if you need me to.’”
So while that experiment is probably viewed as a failure, some of Mulkey’s teachings seemed to have rubbed off, as Van Lith is free to score again but has also done a solid job of running the offense, leading the team with 167 assists.
