The newest Death Star in women’s college basketball just got stronger. And it didn’t just add a new laser beam or a couple of Tie Fighters. In sticking with these Star Wars references – look, forgive me, May 4 is next week – this is like Darth Vader linking up with Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Hailey Van Lith is transferring to LSU – the reigning national champions who return the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player Angel Reese and two other key contributors in rapper-slash-guard Flau’jae Johnson and Kateri Poole.
Like Reese, Van Lith has two years of eligibility left, tons of sass, swagger and coolness, and a skillset that’s among the best in the sport. At Louisville, she a three-time All-ACC selection and was an All-American honorable mention this past season. She played in a Final Four as a sophomore, and led the Cardinals to the Elite Eight as a freshman and junior. Van Lith and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark were the only two Power 5 players this season to average at least 19 points, four rebounds and three assists per game.
And now, she’s going to be playing with Reese, one of the game’s best rebounders who also happened to averaged 23 points per game as she powered LSU to its first national championship this year.
a new queen is coming to the boot👑 @haileyvanlith pic.twitter.com/RuQEWYQfys
— Haleigh Bryant (@haleighbryant3) April 27, 2023
Kim Mulkey might not be done with the transfer portal. But in the meantime, here’s what her Tigers landing Van Lith means.
LSU might be the greatest trash-talking team of all-time
Even the most casual of women’s college basketball fans know the names Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese, probably because they’ve seen clips of the players on SportsCenter or Twitter talking trash, dancing, or pointing at their ring fingers. Or burning some opponent for 30 points.
If Reese was the player with the most attitude in the SEC last season, Van Lith was certainly that in the ACC. We’ve seen the former Louisville Cardinal drop F bombs in postgame interviews, get into brief confrontations with opponents, and garner technical fouls.
And Reese, well, nobody could ignore her imitation of John Cena’s Tony Yayo-inspired “You Can’t See Me” taunt directed at Clark towards the end of the national championship game. Which, by the way, is something that Clark did to Van Lith as Iowa was beating Louisville in the Elite Eight this year.
When Van Lith visited LSU earlier this month, Reese sent out a tweet with the emoji of a face peeking through its hands. If you squint just hard enough, it sort of looks like the “You Can’t See Me” gesture.
🫣
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) April 18, 2023
A partnership between Van Lith and Reese is sure to be spicy. These are two players who not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk. Van Lith was 25th in the nation in scoring while Reese was fifth. Van Lith also led the nation in minutes-played this season – a sign of how essential she was to Louisville’s success – while Reese ranked second in win shares (11.5), PER (44.6) and rebounds per game (15.4).
Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith at LSU pic.twitter.com/eHhj0Eqq7V
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) April 27, 2023
The Tigers could be the preseason No. 1, and a favorite to repeat as champs
We’ve seen increased parity in women’s college basketball over the past seven seasons. This was a sport that was once seemingly dominated by UConn, Tennessee, Baylor and Notre Dame – all of which won multiple championships between 1995 and 2018. But this sport hasn’t seen a repeat champion since 2016, when UConn won its fourth consecutive title with Breanna Stewart as its centerpiece. South Carolina seemed poised to repeat as champs this season and entered the Final Four undefeated, but the Gamecocks were ousted by Clark’s Iowa squad.
But now, on paper anyways, LSU looks like the preseason No. 1 team in the sport. And a whole lot of people are going to be expecting Mulkey’s Tigers to repeat as champs.
Because it isn’t just Van Lith and Reese that will make this LSU team extremely talented. And it isn’t just the return and growth of Flau’jae Johnson, Kateri Poole, Sa’Myah Smith and Last-Tear Poa.
LSU is set to bring in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes this offseason, featuring four players in the top 100 of ESPN’s rankings. Two of them – guard Mikaylah Williams and post Aalyah Del Rosario – are five-star talents.
Simply put: Even if they don’t add anymore transfers, LSU is going to be stacked with talent.
Hailey Van Lith announces she’s transferring to LSU. It’s happening, people. #WBB pic.twitter.com/4FQxW5uyYY
— Kelly Gramlich (@kellygramlich) April 27, 2023
The oddsmakers agree, by the way. Upon the news of Van Lith’s commitment, FanDuel made LSU the favorites to win the 2024 title at +450, and DraftKings made the Tigers co-favorites with UConn.
Women’s basketball fans would be lucky to see a 2024 title clash between LSU and UConn in Cleveland. The Huskies are expected to have Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd back at full strength to combine with AP All-Americans Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl, and a pair of top 15 recruits in Kamorea Arnold and Ashlynn Shade. And did I mention Ice Brady?
Maybe just go ahead and pencil in LSU and UConn as two of the 2024 Final Four teams.
The SEC is serious about women’s basketball
Van Lith could have gone almost anywhere in the sport. Who wouldn’t want someone with her competitiveness and tenacity that averages 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game?
But she chose LSU. And she chose the SEC — just like Reese did last year after leaving Maryland
Van Lith is not the only transfer to go south this season. Kennedy Todd-Williams left UNC for Ole Miss, Destinee Wells went from Belmont to Tennessee, Lauren Park-Lane landed at Mississippi State after standing out at Seton Hall, Te-Hina Paopao bounced from Oregon and settled at South Carolina. The list goes on. And Aneesah Morrow – a two-time All-American forward from DePaul who is the best player left in the transfer portal – has narrowed her choices down to LSU, South Carolina and USC.
Whether it’s with facilities, coaching salaries or NIL, it’s clear that many SEC programs are investing in women’s college basketball. According to data obtained by the USA Today Network, head women’s basketball coaches at public SEC schools earned an average salary of $1,122,956 this past season – which is the highest for any conference. Mulkey, Dawn Staley, Kellie Harper and Joni Taylor each top the seven-figure mark.
That money trickles down. And the players recognize where they can go to be treated like royalty.
This is a good thing. The rest of the country must keep up or get left behind.
FREE SMOKE TOUR CONTINUES. 🤝🏽
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) April 27, 2023
