Hailey Van Lith graduates with near 4.0 GPA, starts LSU journey
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) – Hailey Van Lith has officially graduated from the University of Louisville with her bachelor’s degree in finance (May 2023). The morning after graduation, Van Lith flew to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to begin her basketball journey with the LSU Tigers.
Van Lith – who completed her undergraduate requirements within just three years – managed to graduate with Summa Cum Laude honors. By the University’s standards, that means Van Lith graduated with a 3.9 GPA or greater on a 4.0 scale. In other words, Van Lith graduated within the top 5% of her entire graduating class.
“This moment (graduating college) is to glorify God in all of His goodness,” Van Lith wrote in her Instagram post on Sunday. “He is the one true love.”
“Congratulations to our baby girl,” Hailey’s mom, Jessica Van Lith, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “You never cease to amaze us. Most people know you for your skills on the court. This girl is so much more than basketball. She has earned her finance degree in three years graduating Summa Cum Laude. You never take a day off, working towards things that most of the time your dad and I can’t even see. Always striving to get better, be better and do better in every facet of your life.”
Several of Hailey’s future teammates, including Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow and Flau’jae Johnson, all wrote congratulatory comments under Hailey’s graduation post.
Overall, Hailey’s finance degree should come in handy for her Name, Image and Likeness deals. Hailey’s NIL valuation is $500,000, according to ON3. Many of her paid partnerships include finance-based companies.
“As a student-athlete, my days are always fast-paced and on the go,” Hailey said in a paid-partnership ad. “I’ve learned that maximizing my time and money is the best way to reach my goals. One of my goals this year is to learn more about managing my finances. I’ve been playing Invesco QQQs and How Not To Suck At Money to learn about the importance of setting aside 20% of my paycheck.”
It’s hard to say if Hailey will complete a master’s degree in finance as a graduate student at LSU, but it is possible thanks to her two years of remaining eligibility.
As of now, Hailey has already begun her LSU basketball journey.
“(Hailey) graduated on Saturday, boarded a plane at 7 am Sunday chasing [her] dreams,” Hailey’s mom wrote on Facebook. “Go be great! Next stop, Baton Rouge.”
