Kim Mulkey expresses hope for Hailey Van Lith to return to LSU
LSU head coach Kim Mulkey is thankful for Hailey Van Lith’s lone year with the program, and she’d be even more grateful for another. After LSU’s season-ending loss to Iowa in the Elite Eight on Monday evening, Mulkey discussed what’s ahead for Van Lith.
“I hope it’s not her last game. But if it is, I’m proud to have been her coach for a year,” Mulkey said. “She’s got another year if she wants to come back. So does Angel [Reese]. I know they have to make decisions.
“But the thing that we talk about a lot, on the men’s side, we talk about one-and-dones and how terrible that is. You go through a period, you can’t have these players for long periods of time, they’re selfish, they’re going to take care of themselves. Look, everybody is different and everybody has to do what they’re going to do.”
Van Lith spent three seasons at Louisville before deciding to transfer to LSU ahead of the 2023-24 season. The 5-foot-7 guard was a standout at Louisville, leading the team in scoring two seasons in a row.
In 2022, Van Lith led the Cardinals to the Final Four. In the process, she was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Wichita Regional. Van Lith hauled in All-America Honorable Mention honors from AP and the USBWA as a junior.
Hailey Van Lith made a team decision
While Van Lith could have stayed at Louisville and been the star of the show, she opted to take a supporting role in a bigger play. Mulkey couldn’t have been happier to have Van Lith in her troupe this past season.
“Hailey Van Lith came to LSU after being an abundant shooter. Shot it a lot at Louisville. Had great success. Was on good teams,” Mulkey said. “But she graduated in three years with a finance degree. She wanted to experience all the things I guess she saw from afar with our championship last year.
“For her to take that leap of faith and leave her comfort zone at Louisville, you don’t see many players do that when she was that big a piece to their puzzle. She has embraced learning a new position, taking less shots. Our last game against UCLA, I thought her stats were very good, but I’m an old point guard, and I see all that.”
Van Lith won’t have to long to make another hefty decision. Per the WNBA, “any player competing in the Elite Eight or beyond has until 48 hours after the conclusion of their final game” to renounce their remaining NCAA eligibility and declare for the draft.
No matter what Van Lith chooses, Mulkey is thankful to have been able to play a role in Van Lith’s legacy.
“Forever indebted to Haley and her unselfish play to come to LSU to play with a lot of great players and learn a new position,” Mulkey said.