Evaluating potential destinations for LSU transfer Hailey Van Lith

LSU guard Hailey Van Lith entered her name into the transfer portal Thursday afternoon and will be eligible to play immediately next season, On3 has learned. With the NCAA allowing multi-time transfers to play next year without securing a waiver, the former Louisville star can explore her options.

Thursday’s news of Van Lith hitting the portal comes after she missed her 48-hour window to enter the WNBA draft following the Tigers’ loss to Iowa on Monday night.

When the former top recruit left Louisville nearly a year ago, she took less than 20 days to decide. Expect the point guard to take her time this go around and make a handful of visits. Her final year of eligibility will be crucial to secure lottery pick status in the WNBA draft. 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 at Louisville as a junior in 2022-23, she averaged 19.7 points and 3.2 assists per game.

Offensively, she struggled in her only season at LSU. Despite starting 33 games, 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.

“I hope it’s not her last game,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said earlier this week. “But if it is, I’m proud to have been her coach for a year. She’s got another year if she wants to come back. So does Angel [Reese]. I know they have to make decisions.

“But the thing that we talk about a lot, on the men’s side, we talk about one-and-dones and how terrible that is. You go through a period. You can’t have these players for long periods, they’re selfish, they’re going to take care of themselves. Look, everybody is different and everybody has to do what they’re going to do.”

Where could Hailey Van Lith land in transfer portal?

The process has just started for the LSU point guard, and possible teams she could be targeting like South Carolina and Iowa are still playing for a national title. This is a breakdown of what programs could be looked at through the process.

For starters, Van Lith is an adidas athlete. The sneaker giant held up its deal when she transferred to LSU, which is a Nike school. But it’s a factor to at least think about when evaluating where she might land.

Iowa will be the first school thrown out by the average women’s basketball fan. With Caitlin Clark headed to the WNBA, there is a clear hole on Lisa Bluder’s roster to find a point guard who shoots the ball well. Van Lith checks off those boxes, and On3’s HawkeyeReport reporter Kyle Huesmann pointed that out.

When the former Louisville star went through the process a year ago, Stanford and South Carolina were the two other contenders, she previously told Bleacher Report. The Gamecocks already have their star point guard in MiLaysia Fulwiley, who averages 11.9 points and 2.1 assists this season. It seems unlikely, however, Dawn Staley could have different plans.

UConn has KK Arnold, Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd all returning. Does Van Lith want to try out Storrs? They were in her top eight schools in high school. Same with Baylor, Oregon State and Notre Dame.

The Cardinal is an intriguing option. Cameron Brink is headed for the WNBA draft. Guard Hannah Jump has exhausted her eligibility. Does Van Lith want to team up with Tara VanDerveer to tackle the ACC? Possibly. The point guard is from Wenatchee, Washington.

As The Athletic previously reported on Thursday night, Syracuse, Ohio State and UCLA could all be potential options. All three are losing high-volume playmaking guards. As a source told On3, finding the right program fit will be a top factor.

Two other intriguing options to watch for Hailey Van Lith are USC and Kentucky. USBWA National Freshman of the Year Juju Watkins is expected to return to Los Angeles for her sophomore season after leading the Trojans to the Elite Eight. A pairing of Watkins and Van Lith would create the top backcourt in the country.

With former Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks now in Lexington, the Wildcats will surely make a pitch. She’s played in Kentucky before. Plus, VT shooting guard Georgia Amoore entered the portal earlier this week. It could be another exciting backcourt pairing.