Hailey Van Lith

Hailey Van Lith (born September 9, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

She previously played for the Louisville Cardinals.

At Cashmere High School in Cashmere, Washington, Van Lith was rated as one of the top recruits in her class, named a McDonald's All-American and left as the all-time leading scorer in state history.

She played her first three college seasons at Louisville, earning first-team All-ACC honors two times and leading the Cardinals to the Final Four as a sophomore in 2022.

After her junior season, she transferred to LSU.

Van Lith has won two gold medals with the United States at the youth international level.

In 3x3 basketball, she has played for the senior national team and is a 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup gold medalist.

On November 30, 2016, she made her debut, scoring 14 points in a win over Ellensburg High School.

Van Lith led Cashmere to the Class 1A state title game, where she recorded 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals in a 45–44 upset loss to Mount Baker Senior High School.

Her team finished the season with a 26–1 record.

As a freshman, she averaged 24.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.8 steals per game, earning Associated Press (AP) Class 1A All-State first team honors.

In her sophomore season, Van Lith assumed a more important role with the departures of three starters.

On April 11, 2017, as a freshman, she hit her first career walk-off home run in a 7–6 win over Cascade High School.

She held offers from NCAA Division I softball programs by eighth grade.

On January 25, 2018, she recorded the first quadruple-double in program history, with 37 points, 14 steals, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in an 89–34 win over Chelan High School.

She helped her team reach the Class 1A state title game, where they lost to Lynden Christian School.

Van Lith averaged 32 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.3 steals and 5.2 assists per game as a sophomore and was named AP Class 1A Player of the Year.

In her junior season, Van Lith led Cashmere to a third-place finish at the Class 1A state tournament, where she was MVP.

She averaged 34.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.2 steals and 4.9 assists per game as a junior.

Van Lith was named Washington Gatorade Player of the Year and AP Class 1A Player of the Year.

Before her senior season, she developed a relationship with Hall of Fame player Kobe Bryant, who was impressed by her work ethic and mentality and viewed her as a role model for his daughter, Gianna.

She trained at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy in Los Angeles and became a friend and mentor for Gianna.

Van Lith was most valuable player (MVP) of the 2019 FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Cup, where she led her team to a gold medal.

Van Lith was born in Wenatchee, Washington, to Jessica and Corey Van Lith.

Her father played basketball and baseball at the University of Puget Sound, and her parents own a custom home building business.

She has one brother, Tanner, who played baseball for Big Bend Community College.

Van Lith grew up playing basketball under the guidance of her father, who had her train four to five nights per week.

She modeled her game after Diana Taurasi and also drew inspiration from Seattle Storm players Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart.

Van Lith was a member of the Northwest Blazers Amateur Athletic Union program under coach Steve Klees.

She was the first eighth and ninth-grader to play for the Blazers' top team and started in the Adidas Nationals title game in both years, earning Adidas All-American honors.

Van Lith played four years of basketball at Cashmere High School in Cashmere, Washington, under head coach Brent Darnell.

On November 16, 2019, Van Lith committed to playing college basketball for Louisville, choosing the Cardinals over an offer from Baylor.

On February 15, 2020, Van Lith became the state's all-time leading scorer, a record previously held by Jennifer Stinson since 1995, while scoring 46 points in an 84–28 win over Omak High School at the Caribou Trail League title game.

She led Cashmere to a 24–1 record and the Class 1A state title game, where her team lost to Lynden Christian School, and was named tournament MVP.

As a senior, Van Lith averaged 32.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 4.2 steals per game.

She was honored as Washington Ms. Basketball, Washington Gatorade Player of the Year, The Seattle Times Player of the Year and AP all-class Player of the Year.

She was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic, but both games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to basketball, Van Lith played softball for Cashmere as a center fielder and shortstop.

Van Lith was considered a five-star recruit, the number seven player and the top combo guard in the 2020 class by ESPN.

She was drawing the interest of NCAA Division I programs by her freshman season.