TCU's Hailey Van Lith inks NIL deal with LaCroix
Hailey Van Lith is making a splash with her first NIL deal since committing to TCU.
The former Louisville and LSU transfer announced her commitment to the Horned Frogs last week, one of the biggest splashes of the women’s college basketball offseason. And on Monday afternoon Van Lith announced an NIL deal with the sparkling water brand LaCroix on Instagram. She is the first college athlete to strike a deal with the company.
The guard decided to pass on the WNBA draft and return to college for a final season. The move to TCU provides a fresh start for Van Lith, who struggled at times during her one season at LSU. In three seasons at Louisville, Van Lith averaged 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 42.2% shooting from the field (33.7% from 3-point range). In a career year with the Cardinals as a junior in 2022-23, she averaged 19.7 points and 3.2 assists.
Despite starting 33 games in 2023 at LSU, she slipped down to averaging 11.6 points with 3.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds. The NCAA Tournament was challenging for Van Lith as well, as she averaged 6.8 points. She wasn’t the only notable offseason addition for the Horned Frogs. TCU also added Kentucky transfer Maddie Scherr, who averaged 12 points and 3.9 assists per game over the past two seasons.
Hailey Van Lith has been one of the stars of the NIL Era. She was one of the first major signees for adidas. When the 5-foot-7 point guard transferred, she continued her partnership with the brand and has continued to participate in promotion activity, despite LSU being a Nike school. She was one of the leading athletes last June of adidas’ Exhibit SELECT sneaker, engineered to the specifications of women’s feet and the demands of women’s basketball.
Along with her deal with adidas, she currently has an active partnership with Fanatics Memorabilia. Represented by Octagon Sports, on top of her work with adidas, she has partnered with Dick’s Sporting Goods, Valentino, Overtime and Billionaire Girls Club in the past. Van Lith also has more than 1.5 million social media followers.