Hailey Van Lith, Louisville‘s leading scorer over the past two seasons and a consensus top 10 recruit coming out of high school, has committed to LSU, she announced on Thursday (April 27).
Van Lith posted to her Instagram account with the caption “eleven” while wearing a No. 11 LSU jersey, likely indicating her number for the Tigers. She joins the defending NCAA champions with two years of eligibility remaining after entering the transfer portal following this season.
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Fresh off a national championship, LSU did the same thing it did to win their title and hit the transfer portal. Head coach Kim Mulkey brings in Van Lith to replace First Team All-SEC guard Alexis Morris, who was drafted by the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA, as well as complement Angel Reese, the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Coincidentally, when Reese went viral for taunting Iowa star Caitlin Clark following LSU’s national championship victory, many people pointed out Clark doing the same thing to Van Lith when the Hawkeyes knocked Louisville out in the Elite Eight. Now, the two are teammates.
Last year with the Cardinals, Van Lith averaged 19.7 points, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game, both of which were career highs. She also added 4.5 rebounds, joining Clark as the only two Power Five players to average 19 points, three assists and four rebounds. She was named first-team All-ACC the past two seasons, leading her team to the Final Four in 2022 and the Elite Eight in 2023.
today has just been GREAT!
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) April 27, 2023
The decision reunites Van Lith with Mulkey, who tried recruiting the 5-foot-7 guard out of high school when she coached at Baylor. It was one of Van Lith’s top choices following a high school career that saw her average 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 5.1 steals a game, becoming the all-time leading scorer in the state of Washington and winning Washington Gatorade Player of the Year twice.
Along with Van Lith, the Tigers also bring back Flau’jae Johnson, the SEC Freshman of the Year and the team’s third leading scorer. Additionally, they bring in the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class, setting them up nicely to repeat.
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