Hailey Van Lith transferring to LSU, joining Tigers鈥� NIL stars
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) 鈥� The rich get richer as Hailey Van Lith has announced she is transferring to LSU. The reigning national champions are adding one of the best guards in the country to an already stacked roster of returning talent.听
eleven
— HVL (@haileyvanlith)
Van Lith鈥檚 announcement that she was entering the portal after her junior season at Louisville took many by surprise and sent the college basketball world into a tailspin. One of the best players in the country, Van Lith led the Cardinals to three straight Elite Eight appearances and a Final Four in 2022. This past season, the 5-foot-7 guard averaged a career-high 19.7 points to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists.听
With Van Lith at the helm, the Cardinals went 26-12 this season, culminating in a thrilling Elite Eight showdown against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Two of the best guards in the nation went toe-to-toe but Clark and Iowa won 97-83. Van Lith scored 27 points in the loss. She also created one of the best scenes of the tournament when she and Clark started talking towards the end of the game.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e down by 15 points. Shut up.鈥�
Caitlin Clark reminds Hailey Van Lith of Iowa鈥檚 lead over Louisville in the Elite Eight.
Van Lith is visiting LSU today.
If she does transfer there, Iowa and LSU might be the best rivalry in college sports.
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens)
Van Lith will now join fellow All-American and NCAA Tournament MVP Angel Reese to set up what could be an epic rivalry between Iowa and LSU. The Tigers are the reigning national champions after beating the Hawkeyes and famously there was no love lost between the two stars of the Hawkeyes and Tigers. Adding Van Lith into the mix just makes LSU a must–watch team every time its on the court, especially against Clark and Iowa.
A star on the court, Van Lith has also been one of the breakout stars of the NIL movement within college sports. Her current valuation based on NIL deals is a little over half a million dollars and she is joining an LSU athletic department that has embraced NIL. Reese, freshman guard Flau鈥橨ae Johnson and Tigers gymnast Livy Dunne are some of the top NIL earners in the NCAA and Van Lith now gives LSU .听
Since Van Lith entered the portal, LSU has been tied to the star guard. Head coach Kim Mulkey originally recruited Van Lith out of high school when she was the head coach at Baylor and almost got the former five-star to commit to the Bears. Van Lith鈥檚 final decision was between Baylor and Louisville and she chose the Cardinals, but Mulkey got a second chance when Van Lith entered the portal.听
LSU did lose guard Alexis Morris to the WNBA draft but Van Lith is a perfect replacement. She joins Reese and another rising star in Johnson to become one of the best big threes in college basketball. Reese averaged 23 points and 15.4 rebounds last season while Johnson added another 11 points and 5.9 rebounds. The Tigers were already favorites to defend their title and the addition of Van Lith just solidified LSU as the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament in 2024.
