If there is anyone who is having an astounding 2024-25 season this year, it's Hailey Van Lith. The 5'9" guard led TCU to the program's first conference championship in 20 years — and her personal first conference championship win in her collegiate career. Van Lith was also named the Big 12 Player of the Year and has been largely credited with turning the team into top-10 competitors this season.
A lot has been said about Van Lith throughout her career, and many questioned her decision to take a fifth year and transfer to her third school (she previously played for Louisville for three seasons and for LSU for one). But Van Lith stayed focused on her personal goals and mission, and at this point has completely stopped her critics in their tracks.
In December we floated the idea of bringing Van Lith to the Valkyries as one of the team's second-round picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft. The idea still has plenty of merit, but if she keeps hooping like this, the team should strongly consider snagging her at the No. 5 spot.
Why the Valkyries should draft Hailey Van Lith in 2025
There have been a few different names floated as potential first-round picks for Golden State, but the possibility that some of them (like Dominique Malonga and Kiki Iriafen) will be drafted to other teams before the Valkyries get a chance at drafting them is high.
If there is one thing Van Lith has proven this season, it's that she has the perseverance to push ahead even in the face of tremendous doubt from outsiders, a mental strength that will help her if she's part of a brand-new expansion team. Outside of her proven skills on the court, adding that kind of internal strength would only help Golden State in the long run.
That mental fortitude is also what helped Van Lith lead the Horned Frogs to the championship this year. "Listen, they were doubling me on every ball screen, they were face guarding me when I was off the ball, they didn’t want me to have the ball, that’s okay," Van Lith said in a postgame interview with ESPN. "I made passes, and the time came to get shots off in the second half and I took them."
Van Lith also brings a sizeable fan base and years of marketing, NIL experience, and exposure with her. She's an Olympic champion with over 1 million followers on Instagram. Her fans and followers are loyal, and would likely delight in seeing Van Lith drafted anywhere, especially at a team being built from the ground up. In return, the Valkyries would benefit from her built-in audience, particularly in terms of merch and ticket sales, and her unique experience as an Olympics veteran, something that sets her apart from most of the upcoming draft class (and shows that both her game and her mindset can translate successfully to professional basketball).