Hailey Van Lith

Hailey Van Lith (born September 9, 2001) is an American basketball player for the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). She previously played for the Louisville Cardinals.

At Cashmere High School in Cashmere, Washington, Van Lith was rated as one of the top recruits in her class, named a McDonald's All-American and left as the all-time leading scorer in state history. She played her first three college seasons at Louisville, earning first-team All-ACC honors two times and leading the Cardinals to the Final Four as a sophomore in 2022. After her junior season, she transferred to LSU.

Van Lith has won two gold medals with the United States at the youth international level. In 3x3 basketball, she has played for the senior national team and is a Youth Olympic gold medalist. Van Lith was most valuable player (MVP) of the 2019 FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Cup, where she led her team to a gold medal.

Early life

Van Lith was born in Wenatchee, Washington to Jessica and Corey Van Lith. Her father played basketball and baseball at the University of Puget Sound, and her parents own a custom home building business. She has one brother, Tanner, who played baseball for Big Bend Community College. Van Lith grew up playing basketball under the guidance of her father, who had her train four to five nights per week. She modeled her game after Diana Taurasi and also drew inspiration from Seattle Storm players Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart. Van Lith was a member of the Northwest Blazers Amateur Athletic Union program under coach Steve Klees. She was the first eighth and ninth-grader to play for the Blazers' top team and started in the Adidas Nationals title game in both years, earning Adidas All-American honors.

High school career

Van Lith played four years of basketball at Cashmere High School in Cashmere, Washington under head coach Brent Darnell. On November 30, 2016, she made her debut, scoring 14 points in a win over Ellensburg High School. Van Lith led Cashmere to the Class 1A state title game, where she recorded 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals in a 45–44 upset loss to Mount Baker Senior High School. Her team finished the season with a 26–1 record. As a freshman, she averaged 24.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.8 steals per game, earning Associated Press (AP) Class 1A All-State first team honors. In her sophomore season, Van Lith assumed a more important role with the departures of three starters. On January 25, 2018, she recorded the first quadruple-double in program history, with 37 points, 14 steals, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in an 89–34 win over Chelan High School. She helped her team reach the Class 1A state title game, where they lost to Lynden Christian School. Van Lith averaged 32 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.3 steals and 5.2 assists per game as a sophomore, was named AP Class 1A Player of the Year.

In her junior season, Van Lith led Cashmere to a third-place finish at the Class 1A state tournament, where she was MVP. She averaged 34.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.2 steals and 4.9 assists per game as a junior. Van Lith was named Washington Gatorade Player of the Year and AP Class 1A Player of the Year. Before her senior season, she developed a relationship with Hall of Fame player Kobe Bryant, who was impressed by her work ethic and mentality and viewed her as a role model for his daughter, Gianna. She trained at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy in Los Angeles and became a friend and mentor for Gianna. On February 15, 2020, Van Lith became the state's all-time leading scorer, a record previously held by Jennifer Stinson since 1995, while scoring 46 points in an 84–28 win over Omak High School at the Caribou Trail League title game. She led Cashmere to a 24–1 record and the Class 1A state title game, where her team lost to Lynden Christian School, and was named tournament MVP. As a senior, Van Lith averaged 32.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 4.2 steals per game. She was honored as Washington Ms. Basketball, Washington Gatorade Player of the Year, '' The Seattle Times'' Player of the Year and AP all-class Player of the Year. She was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic but both games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to basketball, Van Lith played softball for Cashmere as a center fielder and shortstop. On April 11, 2017, as a freshman, she hit her first career walk-off home run in a 7–6 win over Cascade High School. She held offers from NCAA Division I softball programs by eighth grade.

Recruiting

Van Lith was considered a five-star recruit, the number seven player and the top combo guard in the 2020 class by ESPN. She was drawing the interest of NCAA Division I programs by her freshman season. On November 16, 2019, Van Lith committed to playing college basketball for Louisville, choosing the Cardinals over an offer from Baylor.

College career

Van Lith was the starting point guard for Louisville in her freshman season. On November 25, 2020, she made her collegiate debut and had 13 points and eight rebounds in a 74–53 win over Southeast Missouri State. On March 5, 2021, in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, Van Lith recorded a season-high 24 points, five rebounds and four steals in a 65–53 win against Wake Forest. She was named to the All-ACC tournament first team after helping the Cardinals achieve a runner-up finish. As a freshman, Van Lith averaged 11.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, and was an ACC All-Freshman Team selection. She helped Louisville win the ACC regular season title and reach the Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA tournament.

In her sophomore season, Van Lith assumed a greater role with the departure of Dana Evans. She scored 19 points in her season debut on November 12, 2021, as her team lost to Arizona, 61–59, in overtime. On December 19, she scored 16 points to help lead Louisville to a 69–64 win over UConn at the Women's Hall of Fame Showcase. On February 3, 2022, Van Lith scored a career-high 34 points in a 93–71 win against Clemson. In the game, she shot 6-of-6 from three-point range, the most three-pointers made without a miss in program history. Van Lith led Louisville to the Final Four of the 2022 NCAA tournament, with four consecutive 20-point games, and was named most outstanding player of the Wichita Regional. She averaged 14.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game as a sophomore, earning first-team All-ACC honors.

Van Lith's role continued to expand in her junior season. In her first game of the season, on November 7, 2022, she scored 28 points in an 87–68 over Cincinnati. On January 12, Van Lith scored a season-high 29 points in an 81–79 loss to Virginia Tech. In the quarterfinals of the 2023 ACC tournament on March 3, she scored 26 points, including 17 in the first quarter, in a 74–48 win over Wake Forest. Van Lith led Louisville to an ACC tournament runner-up finish and was named to the all-tournament first team. At the 2023 NCAA tournament, she had four straight 20-point games and led her team to the Elite Eight, where she scored 27 points in a 97–83 loss to two-seed Iowa. As a junior, Van Lith averaged 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. She was named first-team All-ACC for a second straight season and earned All-American honorable mention from the Associated Press, the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Following her junior season, Van Lith entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer on April 8. ESPN rated her as the top transfer in the nation.

On April 27, 2023, Van Lith announced that she would transfer to reigning national champion LSU. She was drawn to the school's support for the women's basketball team and the intensity of the team, and she had a relationship with head coach Kim Mulkey since high school.

National team career

Van Lith represented the United States at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Belarus and won a gold medal. She averaged five points and two assists in 13.6 minutes per game in the tournament. At the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Thailand, Van Lith averaged 9.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, helping the United States win the gold medal. In the final, she scored 16 points and made the game-tying basket in regulation to help her team defeat Australia, 74–70, in overtime.

In 3x3 basketball, Van Lith won a gold medal with the United States at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Argentina. She led her team to another gold medal at the 2019 FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Cup in Mongolia, where she was named MVP. Van Lith played for the senior national 3x3 team at the 2022 FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Belgium, leading the United States to the quarterfinals.

Career statistics

College

, -
, style="text-align:left;", 2020–21
, style="text-align:left;", Louisville
, 30 , , 30 , , 30.1 , , .429 , , .383 , , .830 , , 5.2 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 1.7 , , 11.2
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 2021–22
, style="text-align:left;", Louisville
, 34 , , 34 , , 30.9 , , .432 , , .360 , , .813 , , 3.6 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 2.1 , , 14.4
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 2022–23
, style="text-align:left;", Louisville
, 37 , , 37 , , 36.9 , , .411 , , .293 , , .874 , , 4.5 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 3.7 , , 19.7
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 101, , 101, , 32.9, , .422, , .337, , .850, , 4.4, , 2.5, , 1.3, , .2, , 2.6, , 15.4
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="14", Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.

Off the court

Van Lith is represented by the sports agency Octagon. She has been described as one of the most marketable women's college basketball players. Van Lith has signed name, image and likeness deals with Adidas, JCPenney and Dick's Sporting Goods. On February 25, 2023, she announced that she donated $30,000 to the Louisville nonprofit Family Scholar House to provide tablets for its children's technology program.

Van Lith graduated from the University of Louisville in three years with a degree in finance. She was a three-time All-ACC Academic Team selection at Louisville. In her junior year, Van Lith was named a second-team Academic All-American by College Sports Communicators.

References

External links

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Louisville Cardinals bio

USA Basketball bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Lith, Hailey
2001 births
Living people
American people of Dutch descent
American women's basketball players
Basketball players from Washington (state)
People from Wenatchee, Washington
Point guards
Louisville Cardinals women's basketball players
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Basketball players at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics
Youth Olympic gold medalists for the United States