Hailey Van Lith admits she considered Stanford, South Carolina before transferring to LSU

Hailey Van Lith has been one of the most recognizable stars in women’s college basketball over her three seasons with the Louisville Cardinals. That spotlight upon her only got bigger this offseason, though, once she entered the transfer portal and eventually committed to play for the reigning champion LSU Tigers.

However, that wasn’t the only school that Van Lith considered during her process. In a Bleacher Report interview with Taylor Rooks, she admitted that both Stanford and South Carolina were options for her. Still, considering her relationship with Kim Mulkey and the state of things down in Baton Rouge, she felt as though that choosing the Tigers made too much sense for her and her career.

“LSU was my only official visit,” Van Lith said. “You know, I did talk to a few other schools. I was entertaining Stanford and South Carolina.”

“But, you know, I felt like my relationship with Kim that I had previously? And just the situation that that school was in? I felt like I was at a point in my life where I was ready to take that on,” said Van Lith. “And, you know, I think that’s why I said, like, I don’t regret Louisville. Because it turned me into the woman who I needed to be to be able to take LSU head on and do what is right with this opportunity.”

Van Lith averaged 15.4 points per game over her time at Louisville where she started in 100 career games. That includes her junior year with the Cardinals last season where she averaged a career-high 19.7 ppg.. That average was good for a Top-25 finish in the country in ’22-’23.

In the NIL space, Van Lith is one of the most successful in the sport. She enters her senior season at No. 5 in On3’s Women’s CBB NIL Rankings with a valuation of $509,000. In the Women’s NIL 100, that valuation is good for seventh. Overall, her addition gives the Tigers three highly profitable women’s basketball players with her, Angel Reese, and Flau’jae Johnson.

In the end, everything added up for Van Lith to feel like LSU was the right place for her. Now, the goal is to help the Tigers compete for a repeat in the national title game before she heads off to start her career in the WNBA.

“So, yeah, I think it’s just a good fit on all ends. And it’s going to make me better,” Van Lith said. “It’s going to prepare me for the league and that’s what was the main motive.”