LSU senior guard Hailey Van Lith is in the transfer portal for the second time in her career, according to multiple media reports on Thursday. Van Lith played one season at LSU, shifting to point guard from shooting guard, which she played in three seasons at Louisville. She was a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference selection with the Cardinals. Taking a less prominent role as a scorer, she averaged 11.6 points and a career-high 3.6 assists along with career lows of 2.4 rebounds per game and a 37.8 shooting percentage in 33 games (all starts).
Van Lith played four seasons but has another year of eligibility that the NCAA granted to student-athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She declined to declare for the WNBA draft before this week’s deadline. After scoring a career-best 19.7 points per game in her third season at Louisville, Van Lith transferred to defending national champion LSU and its well-stocked roster.
But a run to a second consecutive title ended Monday in the Elite Eight with a 94-87 loss to Iowa in which Van Lith was matched on defense against record-setting scorer Caitlin Clark, who poured in 41 points. “I hope it’s not her last game. But if it is, I’m proud to have been her coach for a year,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said after the loss to Iowa. “She wanted to experience all the things I guess she saw from afar with our championship last year. For her to take that leap of faith and leave her comfort zone at Louisville, you don’t see many players do that.”
