Hailey Van Lith reveals her powerful mental health journey that's led to TCU's March Madness run
Warning: This story mentions deep mental health topics, including suicidal ideation.
TCU star Hailey Van Lith experienced several hurdles before joining the Horned Frogs.
After Van Lith transferred from LSU, she decided to spend her fifth year playing college basketball with head coach Mark Campell. The decision to continue her career in Texas has rejuvenated Van Lith. She has career highs in multiple categories and has helped TCU get to the Sweet 16 round of the women's NCAA tournament.
While the Horned Frog's historic March Madness run has been electric, getting there hasn't come without obstacles. Van Lith recently opened up about her journey, which almost ended in tragedy before she joined TCU's roster. "I got exposed to the media and social media at such a young age. I really struggled with mental health things," Van Lith revealed.
Here's more about her powerful mental health story:
"When I was younger and in college, I was suicidal. I was heavily medicated, and I felt trapped ... You would never know because I was having a ton of success on the court, but internally and in life in general, I was ready to be done ...""That's what I mean when I speak on suffering and pain. It's like I didn't even want to live ... To come from that to this is incredble ... I've been praying all year, like, 'God, I know you've given me this testimony to share it with the world and shed your light.'""I think this is a year ... and this is the moment that He wants people to know my story, and how he's just taken me literally from the depths of wanting to die to this moment of loving life ... Even if basketball went away today, I truly would want to be here and love these people ...
Hailey Van Lith talks about her mental health struggles throughout her college career, and how this year has been such a blessing for her.
— Nick Girimonte (@GirimonteNicky) March 24, 2025
Really powerful message worth watching from the TCU guard pic.twitter.com/AzNU4oLPQw
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Hailey Van Lith shares mental health journey amid TCU's March Madness run
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