TCU's Hailey Van Lith blames different Kim Mulkey 'vision' for LSU flameout
03/31/2025 03:39 PM
TCU women’s basketball guard Hailey Van Lith has had a long career filled with ups and downs. She is in his fifth year of college basketball, and she has played for Louisville, LSU, and now TCU. Van Lith was with the Cardinals for the first three years of her career before transferring to play for head coach Kim Mulkey and the Tigers last season. It looked like a great fit on paper, but Van Lith was back in the transfer portal one year later.
Hailey Van Lith was averaging almost 20 points per game during her third season at Louisville, and she is now averaging just under 18 at TCU. Last season with LSU, Van Lith averaged 11.6 PPG. Not bad, but it didn’t work out like people were expecting.
“Coach [Kim] Mulkey’s vision for a one was different than the one that I am,” Van Lith said on Sunday, according to an article from ESPN. “Just to be realistic. The style of play that I play as does not fit the one that she needs for her system.”
This season has been filled with redemption for Van Lith. On Saturday, the Horned Frogs took down three-seed Notre Dame in the Sweet 16, and they have a chance to punch their ticket to the Final Four on Monday against one-seed Texas.
After Van Lith struggled at LSU, she picked up a lot of doubters. Not a lot of people had faith in her bouncing back at TCU, but she has done so in a big way.
“Social media has basically given a lot of people who don’t know what they’re talking about a platform to share their thoughts,” Van Lith said. “I’m praying for them, man. Hope their life is good.”
The TCU women’s basketball program ended up being exactly what Van Lith needed this season, and Van Lith was what the Horned Frogs needed, too.
“Hailey is a program changer,” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said. “She was the perfect piece at the right time with the players we had returning … Preseason, I said our goal is to unleash Hailey Van Lith, and that’s come to fruition.”
Hailey Van Lith and TCU are now just one win away from punching their ticket to the Final Four in Tampa, Florida. However, getting by in-state foe Texas will not be easy. The Longhorns and Horned Frogs will get underway at 7:00 ET on Monday night from Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, and the game will be airing on ESPN. Texas is currently favored by 7.5 points.
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