As her teammates and players she was considered to be entering the 2024 WNBA draft with prior to her season at LSU elevate to the WNBA and are showered with brand collaborations and daily media praise, former LSU guard Hailey Van Lith reportedly transferred to TCU.
However, the sharp-shooting guard, who bolted from Kim Mulkey’s program after an inconsistent season that saw her struggle to adapt to a new point guard role, says pump your brakes.
Van Lith is reportedly very close to making a decision on where to play her final year of NCAA eligibility but hasn’t decided yet.
This latest development is in stark contradiction to multiple reports from reputable media sources last week that claimed Van Lith committed to the Horned Frogs.
The guard, who averaged 11.6 points, 2,4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, walked back her supposed commitment during an interview with Doug Feinberg of The Associated Press over the weekend.
“I did take a visit to TCU and am very interested in them, but I took visits to other schools and was very interested in them, too. I haven’t made an official commitment, but I’m very close. The ink has not touched the paper for any school,” Van Lith said to Feinberg.
Van Lith Has Sights Set On 3×3 Team Paris Olympics
According to reports, Van Lith is in no hurry to make a decision because she still has commitments on campus and her focus is on earning a spot on the United States’ 3X3 team for the Paris Olympics.
That is the priority right now, as she won’t have to be at her next school until late in the summer.
For the first time in history Team USA is sending men’s and women’s teams. So Van Lith could be a part of history.
Van Lith Has Been In 3×3 Competition Under Jennifer Rizzotti Before
Van Lith will be under the leadership of former college hoops star Jennifer Rizzott,i who has made a name for herself as coach for Team USA in the 3×3 realm.
“Jen has been involved with our junior national teams, women’s national team and now 3×3,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. “(Her) leadership and involvement in 3×3 are a testament to their dedication to USA Basketball players and programs.”
According to Team USA, Rizzotti, who is also current president of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, led Cameron Brink, Van Lith, Linnae Harper and Cierra Burdick earn hardware in Vienna, Austria, at the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup in June.
Nearly four months later, the 2011 USA Basketball Coach of the Year snagged another gold medal, this time as head coach of the 2023 3×3 Women’s Pan American Team in Santiago, Chile.
She hit the trifecta with a third gold on a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the 2023 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup.
So, Van Lith will be very busy if she is chosen for the team. When she does arrive at TCU (if it’s still TCU) it would be just as social media and NIL queen Haley Cavinder decided to leave TCU for Miami.
Van Lith has been on the low since getting torched for 41 points by Caitlin Clark in LSU’s Final Four loss to Iowa.
Both her and Mulkey admitted that it was best for her to leave. Mulkey’s intentions when Van Lith transferred from a program where she had the green light as a shooter to a system that ran through Angel Reese were to give Van Lith the point guard skills she needed to be able to play at the next level.
The experiment didn’t work, and, on top of that, LSU was embroiled in a social media circus and drama on and off the court the entire season as Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson’s celebrity overshadowed the rest of the program.
If Van Lith can make the 3×3 squad and excel, her transfer pool could explode, and she could be looking at a nice NIL bag.
