Stanford may be an option for LSU transfer Hailey Van Lith

Kevin Borba | Apr 5, 2024

Apr 1, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; LSU Lady Tigers guard Hailey Van Lith (11) controls the ball the Iowa / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Hailey Van Lith took the college basketball world by storm following the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, as she opted to transfer away from Louisville.

She had spent three seasons at Louisville, and was fresh off of her best season yet when she opted to transfer. The Washington native averaged 19.7 points per game with 3.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. She took her talents to LSU, who at the time had just won a title and with the addition of the former five-star was expected to repeat this season.

Unfortunately for Van Lith and the Tigers, they ran into Caitlin Clark's Iowa squad and fell in the Elite 8, thus ending their hopes for a repeat. For Van Lith, she was on the wrong end of a majority of Clark's 41 points. Clark, who has a five-inch height advantage on Van Lith shot 10-of-18 with six threes when guarded by Van Lith according to The Next. Van Lith seemed like a shell of her former self due to the way Kim Mulkey utilized her, and due to the fact she appeared to have lost her confidence a bit playing for a team that possibly didn't fit her skillset. Even throughout the year, there were clear signs of frustration from Van Lith.

The former five-star is back in the portal as of Thursday, and is looking to finish her career elsewhere.

Apr 1, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; LSU Lady Tigers guard Hailey Van Lith (11) controls the ball the Iowa / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

One of the places that could be in the mix to land her is Stanford. Now, it's obviously much harder to transfer into Stanford as a graduate transfer, which is something both Tara VanDerveer and Kyle Smith have been public about. However, comments made by Van Lith last offseason when talking to Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks may have revealed that it was a possibility for Van Lith.

"LSU was my only official visit," said Van Lith while discussing other schools she considered. "I did talk to a few other schools...I was entertaining Stanford and South Carolina.

“But, you know, I felt like my relationship with Kim that I had previously and just the situation that that school was in, I felt like I was at a point in my life where I was ready to take that on,” said Van Lith. “And, you know, I think that’s why I said, like, I don’t regret Louisville. Because it turned me into the woman who I needed to be to be able to take LSU head on and do what is right with this opportunity.”

Now, there are two key differences between this next season and this past season for Van Lith. The main reason that Stanford was believed to be in the mix was due to the bond she formed with Cameron Brink while they won Gold at the FIBA 3X3 tournament. Brink is off to the WNBA Draft, so it's unclear if she would consider Stanford without Brink. However, the biggest obstacle this time around would be the Stanford admissions process, who as we know by now played a role in Stanford missing out on three Ivy League transfers that ended up at USC, helping the Trojans beat Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament Final.

Even despite her down year that saw her average just 11.6 points and 2.4 rebounds compared to the 19 and 4.5 she averaged the year before, she is still going to be the most sought-after commodity. For a program like Stanford, if she is able to get in, she will add an element that this team is badly missing, which is a scoring threat at the guard positions. They return forward Kiki Iriafen who had a breakout year, but they need someone that can not only take the defense's attention off of her, but actually help score. That person is Van Lith.

Only time will tell if it will happen this time around for Stanford.