Hailey Van Lith Lauds TCU Coach in Explaining Transfer Decision From LSU
Arguably the biggest transfer decision within women's college basketball last offseason was Hailey Van Lith announcing that she was heading to TCU after spending a season playing for Kim Mulkey at LSU.
Van Lith asserted herself as one of the country's top guards during three seasons at Louisville. She then transferred to LSU for one season, saw her statistics take a pronounced dip (11.6 points per game compared to 19.7 in her final season at Louisville), and became the punchline of jokes after Caitlin Clark torched her during the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Van Lith clearly wanted a change of scenery from Baton Rouge and ultimately decided upon TCU. This decision has worked out for both sides, as the Horned Frogs have a 27-3 record and are a top-10 team in the country while Van Lith is averaging 17.4 points per game and looking like one of the NCAA's best guards again.
And when speaking with the media after her team's win over West Virginia on February 23, Van Lith opened up about her transfer decision.
"I just had a feeling. I was like 'You know what, dad?... I need to go check TCU out,'" Van Lith said, per an X post from TCU On SI's Nick Girimonte. "It was just on my heart, like God was putting it on my heart. And as soon as I came on campus, I knew this was the place for me.
"I think my relationship with Coach [Mark Campbell] has been a huge blessing. Not just basketball, like my faith, my life, how I operate every day, my values," Van Lith added. "It has really been a part of God's plan for me to be here this year. And he has challenged me a lot to open up and be vulnerable with him, and really show who I am. And I'm working on it. Again, not perfect, but I couldn't be more thankful for him."
She concluded by saying, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
“As soon as I came on campus, I knew this was the place for me.”
— Nick Girimonte (@GirimonteNicky) February 23, 2025
Hailey Van Lith on her decision to come to TCU pic.twitter.com/QKW5bP74Ms
It's cool to see how Van Lith's transfer decision is now paying dividends.
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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.