LSU guard Hailey Van Lith will be transferring to TCU for her fifth collegiate season.
She spent her first three collegiate seasons at Louisville and spent this past season at LSU.
As a Tiger, Van Lith averaged 11.6 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists per game.
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At TCU, Van Lith will be joining another big name in the program, as former Miami guard Haley Cavinder signed to play with the Horned Frogs in November.
Between Van Lith and Cavinder, the two have a combined 6.9 million followers across Instagram, X and Tik Tok.
In the 2022-23 season at Louisville, Van Lith averaged 19.7 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game and 3.2 assists per game. She led her Louisville team to the Elite 8 where they lost to Iowa. In that matchup, Van Lith scored 27 points, shooting 3-for-9 from three and 8-for-19 from the field.
But taking lots of shots was not Van Lith’s assignment at LSU. Many times throughout the season, she played point guard as opposed to her natural shooting guard position.
With that new position, Van Lith was forced to facilitate more and take less shots. Therefore, she rarely played her style of game, or the same one she played with at Louisville.
“Hailey’s taken a lot of criticism, and it needs to stop,” Mulkey said after LSU’s road win over Tennessee. “She’s on the top team in the country, the defending national champions. She’s having to play the point guard, and today, she moved to the off-guard.”
However, the decision to transfer to LSU only proved how much of a competitor Van Lith is.
“Hailey Van Lith came to LSU after being an abundant shooter. Shot it a lot at Louisville. Had great success. Was on good teams,” Mulkey said. “For her to take that leap of faith and leave her comfort zone at Louisville, you don’t see many players do that when she was that big a piece to their puzzle.”
Van Lith shined brightest during SEC play. In the team’s win at home over Florida, she finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
In the team’s win on the road at Tennessee, she set a season-high with 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
