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Hailey Van Lith's WNBA Draft Stock Soars Amid TCU Star's NCAA Tournament Run

TCU star Hailey Van Lith seems to have solidified a future in professional basketball during this collegiate season.
Grant Young|
Hailey Van Lith is now at TCU after transferring from Louisville. She previously played at LSU. She has one of the top NIL valuation's among Big 12 women's basketball players.
Hailey Van Lith is now at TCU after transferring from Louisville. She previously played at LSU. She has one of the top NIL valuation's among Big 12 women's basketball players. | Scott Springer/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TCU Horned Frogs star Hailey Van Lith has had a resurgent 2024-25 season with her third collegiate team.

Van Lith spent the first three seasons of her NCAA career with the Louisville Cardinals (whom she just beat in the 2025 NCAA Tournament), spent her senior campaign with the LSU Tigers and coach Kim Mulkey, and then transferred to TCU before this past season.

And Van Lith has found her stride this season, looking the best she ever has on the basketball court and leading the No. 3-seeded Horned Frogs to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen round while seemingly also making major strides in terms of her mental health.

There were some questions about Van Lith's professional future after her time at LSU. However, that sentiment has since shifted. Not only is Van Lith expected to get drafted, but a March 25 article from ESPN predicted she would go No. 9 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks.

"Van Lith's stock seems to have risen not just in the NCAA tournament but with the entire season she has had at TCU, where she was Big 12 player of the year and league tournament MVP. She is averaging 17.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists and has helped lead the Horned Frogs to their first Sweet 16," the article wrote.

"Van Lith's ability to play well in the pick-and-roll translates to the WNBA. And even if there are questions about her defense, there should be no doubt about her winning mentality. She has been a success at Louisville, LSU and now TCU, plus she won a bronze medal in 3x3 in the Paris Olympics."

Van Lith is surely focused on heading TCU to a national title right now. But it appears that the WNBA is in her future.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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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