TCU’s Hailey Van Lith vs. Louisville: Her journey to this March Madness showdown
On Selection Sunday last season, LSU and Louisville were not only placed in the same region, but assigned the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds, setting them up for a collision course in the second round. Under head coach Jeff Walz, the Cardinals had never lost a first-round game (14-0), all but assuring a matchup between Van Lith and her former school.
Middle Tennessee faces Louisville (Van Lith’s old team) in the 1st round 👀 pic.twitter.com/FwEFzplSuB
— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) March 20, 2024
Instead, Middle Tennessee upset the Cardinals in the opening game. But the anticipated matchup wasn’t denied but merely delayed. Van Lith, now at TCU, and Louisville were once again placed in the same pod in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. After the No. 2 seed Horned Frogs beat No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson and the Cardinals held off Nebraska in a thriller, the 23-year-old senior guard is set to face off against Louisville for the first time. Since her departure.
Women’s NCAA Tournament Round of 32: (2) TCU vs. (7) Louisville
Hailey Van Lith will face her old team 🍿 pic.twitter.com/Xdj79SaCP5
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 22, 2025
Louisville: 2020-2023
Van Lith arrived in Louisville from Wenatchee, Wash., as the nation’s No. 7 recruit, fourth among guards behind Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark and Diamond Johnson. She had a highly decorated youth international career, winning a U-19 gold medal with Team USA in 2019 and a U-18 3×3 gold medal.
She stepped in as a starter immediately for the Cardinals and earned ACC all-freshman honors as Louisville won the conference regular season and made the Elite Eight, where it lost to eventual champion Stanford. The following season, she was the team’s leading scorer (14.2 points per game) and named to the all-ACC first team. She was the Most Outstanding Player in the Wichita Regional as the Cardinals made the Final Four, again losing to the eventual champion (this time, South Carolina).
Louisville had a massive talent exodus in the 2022 offseason with the graduations of Emily Engstler, Kianna Smith and Chelsie Hall. That led to a dip in the team’s regular-season record, but Van Lith raised her scoring average to 19.7 points per game and made first-team all-ACC for the second consecutive season. The Cardinals finished the season on a high note, advancing to the ACC tournament final and the Elite Eight for the third straight year.
LSU: 2023-24
After the season, Van Lith entered the transfer portal, ultimately deciding to join defending champion LSU alongside second-team All-American Aneesah Morrow. With the Tigers also returning Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson and bringing in star freshman Mikaylah Williams, they were among the favorites to repeat.
Instead, the fit with Van Lith never quite materialized. The post-heavy offense didn’t suit her skill set, and her (generously listed) 5-foot-9 size proved problematic in the SEC. Coach Kim Mulkey often platooned her with Last-Tear Poa, prioritizing Poa’s defense over Van Lith’s scoring ability. Van Lith averaged a then-career-high 3.6 assists per game, but the Tigers were 6.2 points per 100 possessions worse with her on the court, the lowest on-off differential of any of their rotation players.
LSU failed to make it back to the Final Four, and Van Lith’s WNBA prospects soured. The lasting image of her disappointing season was her hands raised in resignation in the Elite Eight against Iowa as she was inexplicably given the task of defending Clark. That was the final straw for Van Lith and the Tigers, who never figured out how to optimize her strengths.
Hailey Van Lith after another Caitlin Clark 3 pointer.pic.twitter.com/ZadmsNQhUx
— ✶ Ⓜ️𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤 ▶️ ✶ (@_MarcusD3_) April 2, 2024
TCU: 2024-25
Van Lith chose to exercise her COVID-19 bonus year of eligibility and entered the portal again to play one more college season. She landed at TCU with fellow transfers Donovyn Hunter (Oregon State) and Taylor Bigby (USC), joining an existing core of Sedona Prince and Madison Conner. The Horned Frogs had an injury situation from hell during 2023-24 but figured to be on the upswing with a now-veteran roster.
Van Lith and TCU were a match made in heaven. Coach Mark Campbell’s pick-and-roll heavy offense, combined with a dominant roll partner in Prince, was an ideal fit for Van Lith, especially after she honed her pick-and-roll game for Team USA 3×3 at the Paris Olympics. Her scoring average of 17.9 points per game trailed that of her junior season at Louisville, but she had the most efficient shooting season of her career (52.6 effective field-goal percentage) and averaged a career-best 5.3 assists.
The Horned Frogs captured the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles. Van Lith was the conference Player of the Year and the Big 12 tournament MVP, and she made her first All-American team in her final season. She has also rebuilt her draft stock, with most WNBA talent evaluators optimistic about her ability to play at the pro level.
Van Lith is still searching for that elusive national title, the final accolade to cap off her time in college. It’s only fitting that the path to that crown goes through the Cardinals, the first stop in her long-winding career.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Louisville Cardinals, TCU Horned Frogs, Women's College Basketball, Women's NCAA Tournament
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