Hailey Van Lith (She/Her)

by Kerod Dargaze (He/Him)

Hailey Van Lith was born in Wenatchee, Washington in 2001. It was the small town of Cashmere where her fire for basketball really took shape. Long before national headlines or sold out crowds, Van Lith was putting in hours at the gym with her dad, working hard to improve her game, and dreaming of becoming a basketball star. By age 16, she was already playing for Team USA, collecting gold medals in international 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 tournaments, where there are an equal number of players on each team and the goal is to outscore your opponents. She didn’t just love the game, she was dominating it.

She took that same drive to the University of Louisville, where she made the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament every year and led her team to the Final Four. In 2023 Van Lith wanted a change of scenery so she transferred to Louisiana State University to chase a national championship alongside some of the best talents in the NCAA, only to face a very tough season of role changes, media scrutiny, and personal setbacks. For some athletes, that kind of year would have meant failure but for Van Lith it meant the chance to rebuild.

In 2024, Van Lith transferred again but this time to Texas Christian University and something clicked. She found her joy on the court again. She led TCU to their first-ever appearance in the Elite Eight, the national quarterfinal round of the NCAA basketball tournament, scoring 26 points against Notre Dame with a bloody knee after sustaining a cut on her knee and a grin on her face. By the end of the season, she was named Big 12 Player of the Year, an award given to the best performing athlete in the Big 12 Conference. After, she won back the respect many of the media and world in general had lost for her during her stint at LSU.

What made Van Lith a true icon in the sport wasn’t just her statistics but rather it was her voice. At a post-game press conference in March 2025, she shared that earlier in her college career, she was suicidal and felt trapped under the pressure of success. She spoke openly about therapy, about faith, and about what it means to heal. That moment humanized her with countless people that took jabs at her and her character over a sport.

Van Lith has always been more than just an athlete. She graduated with a degree in finance in just three years at University of Louisville and plans to enroll in law school while pursuing her WNBA career. She’s already an Olympic gold medalist in 3 on 3 basketball. At the 2024 Olympics games in Paris she led the USA team to a bronze medal while having the most points on the team.

Van Lith is part of a new generation of athletes who are not afraid to speak out and share their struggles with the world. Whether it is on the court or behind a microphone, she is what strength looks like. Her story is one that deserves to be remembered for her talent and the impact she’s making on and off the court and through it all, her roots in Washington remain an important part of who she is as she still continues to write her legacy.