TCU lands commitment from LSU women's hoops transfer Hailey Van Lith

LSU transfer and former Louisville women’s basketball player Hailey Van Lith has committed to TCU, according to Talia Goodman.

“BREAKING: LSU transfer Hailey Van Lith is headed to TCU, a source tells @TheNextHoops,” Goodman tweeted Thursday. “She averaged 11.6 ppg and 3.6 apg last season.”

2024-25 will be Van Lith’s fifth and final college season after an action-packed career to date. Hailey Van Lith began her career at Louisville, spending three years with the Cardinals.

She averaged 11 points per game in her freshman season in 2021, when the Cards went 26-4 and advanced to the Elite Eight. In 2022, UL went 29-5 and made another Elite Eight, this time winning to advance to the Final Four where they lost to South Carolina. But Van Lith was the leading scorer on that group at just over 14 points a contest.

In 2023, Louisville struggled by their standings, losing 12 total games and finishing just fourth in the ACC. HVL still had a great year, though, carrying the offense with 19 points per game.

Of course, she chose to hit the transfer portal and joined up with the reigning national champions, LSU, for this past season. The Tigers were strong again, earning a 3-seed and making the Elite Eight with a rematch against Caitlin Clark and Iowa for a shot at the Final Four. The Hawkeyes were the victors this time around and Van Lith did not give her best performance in the regional final game.

However, she did have a decent season as the Tiger point guard, leading the team in assists with 3.6 per game while scoring 11 per contest.

At TCU, she’ll team up with another high-profile transfer in Haley Cavinder, who played three seasons at Fresno State, then one at Miami (FL) in 2022-23, took this past season off, but will now spring back into action for a fifth year with the Horned Frogs after serving as the lead scorer (14 points per game) for a Hurricane team that made the Elite Eight in ’23.

Now, she’ll have a terrific backcourt partner in Hailey Van Lith. These new additions could also join a loaded roster as it is if TCU gets some people back.

For instance, Madison Connor and Sedona Prince both are eligible to return for another each after each averaging 19 points per game for the Frogs this past season. Add the transfer guards in with them and that’s as strong a foursome as any team in the country.