Hailey Van Lith addresses NIL, 'ring chasing' rumors surrounding her transfer to LSU

Hailey Van Lith was one addition for LSU this offseason that only further made the Tigers, who are already the reigning champions, the heavy favorite for the next college basketball season. However, Van Lith said her decision had less to do with personal gain and more to do with personal happiness.

Van Lith shared those thoughts in a recent interview with Taylor Rooks at Bleacher Report. She said that anybody who thinks she transferred to Baton Rouge solely because of NIL or to chase a ring is very obviously someone who wasn’t close to her or her process.

“I think, you know, with NIL being a popular topic of conversation and even, like, the ring chasing rumors? I think, you know, those are logical things for people who don’t know the situation to attract to for an explanation as to why it happened,” Van Lith said. “But it was a decision made from the standpoint of, ‘Is Hailey happy?’. And, ‘Can Hailey attain happiness in this situation?’. That’s what I made my decision off of.”

That’s why, at this point, Van Lith is unapologetic about how things ended up. She says she’s joyful and that she stayed loyal to herself with her choice. In the end, that result is the only one that matters to her.

“I don’t feel bad for it,” stated Van Lith. “Because, at the end of the day, I had to choose myself and I was ready to do that.”

“I do feel happy. And I think, like, I’ve grown so much, even this summer. I’ve had all these experiences that I never would have had if I wouldn’t have made the move that I made,” said Van Lith. “I think I’ve been able to impact certain people with my decision too. Like, you know, I think some players? They do feel weight and pressure to stay at schools that they might not be happy at. They don’t want to disappoint or they don’t want to seem disloyal. But I think the only person that you owe true loyalty to is yourself.”

LSU already brought back key contributors like Angel Reese, Flau’jae Johnson, and Kateri Poole from the roster that won the school’s first basketball championship under Kim Mulkey. Then, this offseason, the Tigers added high-level players like Van Lith (19.7 ppg. at Louisville in 2022) and Aneesah Morrow (23.8 career ppg. at DePaul).

Still, Van Lith wasn’t necessarily planning on constructing a super team with her decision. She was just focusing on herself. Now, in her words, she hopes that other players who felt like she did will eventually follow in her footsteps.

“I hope other players that are in my situation who truly feel like they got the most they could out of where they were? And they weren’t just truly happy with who they were in that situation? (I hope) that they give themselves the freedom to go try something new,” Van Lith said.