Hailey Van Lith Becomes Roster Casualty Amid Sky's Natasha Cloud Addition
Hailey Van Lith was one of the most popular players in college basketball during her five NCAA seasons (three at Louisville, one at LSU, then one at TCU). And Van Lith's extremely successful final college season with the Horned Frogs is what prompted the Chicago Sky to draft her with the No. 11 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Van Lith struggled to make a consistent impact with Chicago in her rookie campaign, even after veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot suffered a torn ACL injury that seemed to have created an opportunity for HVL.
However, young players often take time (and require patience) to develop, and the 2026 preseason that Van Lith put together had many believing she was poised for a breakout campaign. She averaged 12.5 points per game across two preseason contests, including 20 points in just 17 minutes against the Phoenix Mercury last week.
Despite this success, the reality is that the Sky's roster — specifically their guards — is much improved over where it was at this time last year. The team added Skylar Diggins and DiJonai Carrington, both of whom would at least start the season above HVL on the depth chart. Not to mention that Vandersloot would return at some point, along with Jacy Sheldon being there.
And this crowded backcourt meant Van Lith had to be a casualty, as she was waived by the Sky on May 4.
thank you, Hailey🩵
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) May 4, 2026
wishing you nothing but the best ahead pic.twitter.com/YIviqhlvWi
Sky Sign Natasha Cloud After Waiving Hailey Van Lith
In the wake of moving on from Van Lith, news also broke that Chicago had signed veteran guard Natasha Cloud, who was the highest-profile unsigned women's basketball player in free agency before Chicago brought her on board.
While HVL has shown a lot of improvement over the past year, Cloud has proven she can contribute to winning teams on both ends of the floor. And the Sky clearly seem to believe that she'll help them win more than Van Lith could have this season.
adding a cloud to our sky ☁️
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) May 4, 2026
welcome to the Chi, Tash! pic.twitter.com/tr7LrkH5ZL
But it isn't all bad news for Van Lith. ESPN's Kendra Andrews reported on Monday that she is in "active conversation with a number of different teams," via an X post. Plus, there's a chance HVL could re-join the Sky's roster via a developmental contract if she clears waivers.
One would imagine that Van Lith would prefer being on an active roster rather than on a developmental contract. And perhaps her preseason success will convince a team she's worth it.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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