New Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith fell on hard times during her college basketball career. After a stellar rookie campaign at Louisville that netted her ACC All-Freshman honors, she followed that up with two consecutive First-Team All-ACC selections.
However, when she jumped into the transfer portal and decided to join Angel Reese at LSU, not only did her production go down, but her confidence wavered, and she looked like a shell of herself at times on the court. Fortunately, she revitalized her game last season at TCU, winning the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year Award. After this All-American season, the Sky took her at the end of the first round in the WNBA Draft.
Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith on stage with Commissioner Cathy Engelbert at the 2025 WNBA Draft.Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Before her revival with the Horned Frogs last year, many had Van Lith slotted as a second-round pick. There was so much talent in college basketball this season, but her 17.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game at TCU were enough for her to stand out from the pack.
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While the consensus was that Van Lith had played her way into being a first-round pick, nobody felt that she was destined to land anywhere near the top five. However, Chicago Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca admitted that he was surprised to see Van Lith still on the board when the team was picking at No. 11.
“We’re surprised that Hailey (Van Lith) and (Ajša) Sivka were there,” said Pagliocca.
After landing a lethal duo of post players in last year’s draft, the Sky’s general manager could not believe that another set of great players had fallen into his lap. While there is some speculation about whether Sivka will join the team or not this year, at least Van Lith will immediately serve as a complement to Reese and center Kamilla Cardoso.
The franchise is working on a tight schedule, as they’ll have just weeks to prepare for their season opener. The Sky take on the Indiana Fever on May 17 to begin the year, which will be the first of five highly-anticipated matchups between Van Lith, Reese and Caitlin Clark.
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