LSU women’s basketball transfer Hailey Van Lith commits to TCU

TCU women’s basketball picked up one of the best transfers available with a commitment from LSU transfer Hailey Van Lith on Thursday morning.

Commonly referred to as HVL, Van Lith is one of the best players in the country and one of the most famous players in women’s college basketball. Alongside stars like Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson van Lith averaged 11.6 points and a team-high 3.6 assists while helping the Tigers reach the Elite Eight.

LSU fell to Iowa with HVL having the main task of trying to guard Caitlin Clark, who was just the No. 1 overall pick to Indiana Fever in the WNBA Draft earlier this week.

HVL started her career at Louisville, where she raised her scoring average every season. As a freshman she averaged 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds while helping the Cardinals reach the Elite Eight. As a sophomore HVL helped guide the team to the Final Four by averaging 14.4 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 36 percent from 3.

Van Lith’s true breakout season came in 2022 when she again led Louisville to the Elite Eight averaging 19.7, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. HVL had a smaller role with Kim Mulkey and the Tigers, but was still effective and was able to find a role surrounded by stars.

That bodes well for how she’ll fit at TCU which has quietly collected its own group of stars under Mark Campbell. Leading scorer Sedona Prince is returning for her final season and will be one of the best bigs in the country.

Madison Conner, who averaged 19.2 points and shot 39 percent from 3, also returns for her senior season. Miami transfer Haley Cavinder, who has one of the largest social media followings in the sport, was supposed to also suit for the Horned Frogs next season and she’s much more than a social media influencer.

Cavinder was the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year in 2020 and Player of the Year in 2021. Cavinder made three straight All-MWC teams before transferring to Miami. With the Hurricanes she averaged 12.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists and was second team All-ACC while leading Miami to its first Elite Eight in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

The potential pairing of HVL and Cavinder didn’t last long as Cavinder announced on social media she would return to Miami for her final season of college basketball alongside her twin Hanna roughly an hour after Van Lith’s commitment.

Cavinder going back to Miami only makes HVL’s pledge even more significant for the Horned Frogs next season and on paper the pairing of HVL and Conner should still be one of the most potent backcourts in the country.

With more spots to fill, Campbell is far from being finished building the roster for next season.