Report: LSU's Van Lith enters transfer portal
LSU guard Hailey Van Lith has entered the transfer portal, a source told The Athletic's Chantel Jennings.
Van Lith, who joined the Tigers for the 2023-24 campaign after three seasons at Louisville, has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining. Though Van Lith could have opted to enter this year's WNBA draft, she wasn't named in Thursday's list of NCAA players who have declared, suggesting she'll aim to rebuild her draft stock in 2024-25.
The 22-year-old's production took a step back in her senior season as she became accustomed to a supporting role at LSU after being a focal point of Louisville's offense through her junior year.
After putting up 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game with the Cardinals in 2022-23, she averaged just 11.6 points per game on Kim Mulkey's squad, adding 3.6 assists, 2.4 boards, and 1.3 steals. Her field-goal attempts per game were nearly halved year-over-year; she managed just 9.9 shot attempts per contest in the SEC, converting just 37.8% of attempts, after shooting at a 41.1% clip on an average of 16.8 tries in her final year at Louisville.
The two-time All-ACC selection's season came to an end following Monday's loss to Iowa in the Elite Eight, during which Van Lith was primarily tasked with defending Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark. Van Lith struggled to contain Clark, who finished with 41 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds as Iowa won to advance to the Final Four.
"Hailey Van Lith came to LSU after being an abundant shooter," Mulkey told reporters after their season-ending defeat Monday, courtesy of NOLA.com's Reed Darcey. "Shot it a lot at Louisville. Had great success. Was on good teams. But she graduated in three years with a finance degree. 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 when she was that big a piece to their puzzle. She has embraced learning a new position, taking less shots."
If she completes a transfer elsewhere, Van Lith will be LSU's second high-profile departure this offseason. Tigers standout Angel Reese announced Wednesday that she'll enter the 2024 WNBA Draft, where she's expected to be among the top picks.