Caitlin Clark cooked this LSU star straight into the transfer portal
Hailey Van Lith is leaving Baton Rouge
An under-the-weather Van Lith (left) struggled to keep up with Caitlin Clark on Monday night.Lapresse
It was a disappointing end to the 2023/24 season for the LSU Tigers women’s basketball team. LSU hoped to successfully defend its national championship, but in a rematch of last season’s national final, the Tigers lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes at MVP Arena in Albany, New York.
The 94-87 defeat to Caitlin Clark‘s Hawkeyes came at a cost. Angel Reese, the team’s star power forward, has elected to forgo her final year of college eligibility and enter the 2024 WNBA Draft. Hailey Van Lith is another player who will not be with the program next year, as the former Lousville guard has decided to re-enter the transfer portal after struggling to keep up with Clark in Monday’s regional final.
Caitlin Clark makes incredible pass to help her brother steal the ball from the Iowa-LSU game
Van Lith to change schools again
Three days after the loss to Iowa, reports confirmed Van Lith‘s choice to transfer again after just one season with LSU. Van Lith began her college career as a star guard at Louisville and hoped to win a championship in Baton Rouge, but it was not meant to be for the former All-ACC selection.
BREAKING: LSU’s Hailey van Lith has entered the transfer portal, a source tells @TheNextHoops.
She averaged 11.6 ppg and 3.6 apg at LSU this year after transferring in from Louisville. In her junior year at Louisville, she averaged 19.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 3.2 apg. pic.twitter.com/fUmXiLnTbB
— Talia Goodman (@goodmansport) April 4, 2024
Before the season, many expected Van Lith to enter the 2024 draft, even with an additional year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. But she struggled to carve out a role in Kim Mulkey’s Reese-dominated offense and looked far from the dominant scoring guard who guided Louisville to the Final Four in 2022. The final straw appears to have been Monday night, when Clark took full advantage of Van Lith being under the weather — she required an IV before LSU’s Sweet 16 game against UCLA — and scored 41 points, many of them coming with Van Lith as the primary defender.
Van Lith’s destination will be…
Several schools figure to duke it out for Van Lith, who has already earned her college degree but remains eligible to play in the NCAA. Ironically, Van Lith could be considered at Iowa as Clark’s replacement, with the two-time Naismith National Player of the Year heading to the WNBA‘s Indiana Fever later this month.
The USC Trojans could emerge as a candidate for Van Lith’s services — and in Los Angeles, she would form an exciting backcourt partnership with JuJu Watkins, the explosive freshman point guard who led USC to the Elite Eight this season. Van Lith could even return to the ACC by transferring to Stanford, giving the Cardinal a trusted scorer following the departure of WNBA-bound Cameron Brink.
Hailey Van Lith is now in the transfer portal. Where does she land?
Does Iowa need a shooter to fill Caitlin Clark's role? South Carolina and UConn are unlikely. Stanford was in the mix a year ago. USC and Kentucky are exciting options.
More: https://t.co/fxE7vjOjID pic.twitter.com/VV67DP19M5
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) April 4, 2024
