Van Lith returns to action with Team USA
USA Basketball announced that LSU’s Hailey Van Lith is one of 18 athletes selected to participate in the 2023 USA 3×3 Women’s National Team trials that begin Friday at Colorado College.
Van Lith, who announced her decision to transfer to LSU on April 28, has extensive experience with USA Basketball. She was on the USA team that competed in the 2022 FIBA 3×3 World Cup.
In 2019, she earned 2019 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup MVP honors on the way to a gold medal finish. Van Lith was a two-time title holder in 2018, first at the Youth Olympic Games and at 3×3 U18 National Championship.
Van Lith makes the move from Louisville to LSU
One of the top players in the ACC and in the country in recent years, Van Lith has two years of eligibility remaining.
A two-time First Team All-ACC player and AP All-America honorable mention for Louisville, Van Lith is an impact player. The 5-7 guard from Wenatchee, Washington is coming off the most productive year of her career at Louisville and earned AP All-America honorable mention honors. Van Lith averaged 19.7 points, 3.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game this season. Van Lith and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark are the only two players in the country who averaged at least 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists throughout the year. Louisville and Van Lith reached this year’s Elite Eight before falling to Iowa.
Van Lith was also an impact player during the 2021-22 season, being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Wichita Regional en route to an appearance in the 2022 Final Four.
Across her three seasons at Louisville — two of which she was the team’s leading scorer — Van Lith compiled an average of 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on 42.2% shooting from the field (33.7% from 3). She finished 12th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,553 points in three seasons.
Editor’s note: This is a press release from LSUSports.net
LSU lands top two transfer portal targets
LSU head coach Kim Mulkey and her staff stayed active in the portal and it paid off.
First came the commitment of Van Lith, who gives the Tigers one of the nation’s premier college players. Van Lith had nearly committed to Mulkey and Baylor coming out of high school. At the time, she was ranked as the No. 7 recruit out of high school per HoopGurlz, she was a McDonald’s All American and a finalist for the Naismith Trophy high school player of the year.
From there, LSU added DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow. Morrow and Van Lith were ranked by ESPN as the top two players in the portal this offseason.
Morrow links up with LSU forward Angel Reese, who were the lone two players in the NCAA this past season to rank inside the Top-10 in both scoring and rebounding.
