Hailey Van Lith is headed to TCU for a final season after a one-year run with LSU

FORT WORTH, Texas — Hailey Van Lith, who joined LSU this past season and reached the Elite Eight with the defending national champion before a loss to Caitlin Clark and Iowa, is transferring to TCU for her fifth and final season.

Van Lith spent her first three seasons with Louisville, reaching a Final Four and another Elite Eight before deciding to join four-time champion coach Kim Mulkey’s team at LSU. TCU announced her decision Friday.

The guard averaged 14.5 points, four rebounds and 2.8 assists per game with the Cardinals and Tigers. She played mostly wing for Louisville before moving to point guard for Mulkey’s team.

Van Lith is joining a TCU program that made the AP Top 25 this season before injuries forced the Horned Frogs to forfeit two games and hold open tryouts to bolster the roster.

TCU got off to a school-record 14-0 start, including a victory over BYU in the Big 12 Conference opener, before a six-game losing streak capped by the two forfeits. The Horned Frogs finished 21-12 and 6-12 in the Big 12 under second-year coach Mark Campbell.

Van Lith won’t be playing with Haley Cavinder, who had announced she was headed to TCU from Miami. Her twin sister, Hanna Cavinder, had said she was considering no longer playing when both said they were leaving the Hurricanes.

After Hanna Cavinder decided to continue her career, both sisters said they were returning to Miami.

Van Lith will get to play with a pair of 20-point scorers in Sedona Prince and Madison Conner. Prince and Conner were among the players injured when TCU’s 2023-24 season was derailed.

Born in Wenatchee, Washington, Van Lith is the only active Division I player with at least 1,900 points, 500 rebounds and 350 assists.

Van Lith, who will be a graduate student, also has been active with USA Basketball and is among the candidates for the 3×3 national team that will compete at the Paris Olympics this summer.