You could call her WNBA debut a homecoming of sorts. But Baton Rouge isn’t home for Hailey Van Lith. During her single season at LSU, she clashed with expectations, endured positional shifts, and took more hits off the court than on. However, it might have just been the stop she needed– it helped her emerge with the clarity and poise of a pro in the making. “You have to just figure out how to make things work when it’s not what you expected it to be,” she says. And that’s the edge the Chicago Sky saw when they made her the No. 11 overall pick. Just ask head coach Tyler Marsh.
For the Sky, she’s not just a shot-maker. Not just a combo guard. But a player who can adjust, adapt, and attack. And in her preseason debut against Brazil, she proved exactly that. “She showed no fear tonight… You saw her on the ball a lot more. She’s creating for others. That’s what we thought we were getting when we drafted her,” said Marsh.
It all came after she contributed seven points, four dimes, three boards, and a flawless 5-for-5 from the line. But what made it stand out was that all of it came off the bench. It’s everything the Sky had been looking for after last season. That is the direction Marsh is setting for the new roster. In his words: “We just don’t want to be one-dimensional.”
Marsh on HVL: “She showed no fear tonight…You saw her on the ball a lot more tonight. She’s creating for others. That’s what we thought we were getting when we drafted her.”
— Karli Bell (@KarliBell33) May 3, 2025
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