Kim Mulkey added yet another superstar to LSU's collection, securing the services of Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith via transfer portal, she announced on Instagram on Thursday.
The senior guard fits like a glove into Mulkey's national championship-winning setup, offering playmaking and three-level scoring as the offense's lead table-setter. She also stands to make a good lump of change from her move, if she so desires.
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Here's what you need to know about Van Lith's move to the Bayou.
Why did Hailey Van Lith transfer to LSU?
Van Lith's transfer appears to come down to three distinct factors. A two-time All-ACC player, the junior was one of only two players to average 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game in 2023. She figures to reprise her role as one of the nation's best guards, this time for a team with clear national championship aspirations.
Winning time
Van Lith is a gamer, showcasing the sort of smooth confidence that would look good in purple and gold. A Kobe Bryant disciple, the Adidas-sponsored star is known to be among the most competitive players in the country. An opportunity to play for one of the best teams in the country had to be appealing, especially after falling just short of the Final Four in the tournament.
Van Lith and Louisville were eliminated by Iowa and star Caitlin Clark. In the waning moments of that game, Clark appeared to taunt Van Lith after recording a triple-double, a clip that got a lot of attention at the time.
Now, there are plenty of places Van Lith could have called home had she just wanted to win. UConn, Stanford and South Carolina are perennial contenders, each of which is more than willing to add Top-5 pick-level talent to their roster. But Van Lith just fits on the Tigers. She'll be able to slot into Mulkey's expansive offense with ease, taking the same mid-range pull-ups and runners that senior guard Alexis Morris was known for. And don't get us started on the two-man game between her and Angel Reese. There aren't many defenses in the country capable of stopping that.
Ultimately, Van Lith saw a chance to play with one of the best teams in the nation and took it. The fact that there was an easy pathway into that starting lineup had to be a deciding factor.
Mulkey's influence
This won't be Van Lith and Mulkey's first rodeo together. They were this close to teaming with one another back in 2020, with the then-high schooler deciding to opting to take her talents to Louisville rather than Baylor, the team Mulkey was coaching at the time.
Three years later and not much has changed. Mulkey is still on the sidelines, rocking exceedingly more eccentric outfits than she did earlier in her career. Van Lith, meanwhile, is still one of the biggest names in women's basketball.
Perhaps the setting may be different. But Van Lith and Mulkey finally get the chance to work with one another.
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All about the Benjamins, baby
Van Lith is one of the highest-grossing players in the college game. She sits 8th in On3's NIL rankings among women athletes, reportedly earning $518,000 from her various endorsements.
That number could skyrocket, though. Of the seven athletes in front of her, three call Baton Rouge home: Olivia Dunne and teammates Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson.
Reese is a good case study for NIL popularity. The Baltimore native had plenty of hype coming out of high school, earning the No. 2 ranking in her draft class, as well as an appearance in the McDonald's All-American game.
Still, she wasn't a mega star. Much of that had to do with the team she was playing for; Maryland, despite being one of the country's best programs, just doesn't have the gravitas of some of other blue chips. Couple that with an endorsement deal (Under Armour) that pales in comparison to some of sport's apparels biggest names and it's little surprise why Reese couldn't maximize her value in College Park.
Since joining LSU, she has done just that. The Tigers have the preeminent NIL setup in the country. From Dunne to Jayden Daniels, if you do your thing in the purple and gold, you can make yourself a bag. Van Lith should be no exception.