Hailey Van Lith to play on USA Basketball 3×3 World Cup team
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) – Although it’s currently the offseason for women’s college basketball, one of the sport’s biggest stars continues to stay busy. On Thursday, it was announced that recent LSU transfer Hailey Van Lith will be part of the 2023 USA 3×3 World Cup team. The FIBA 3×3 World Cup will be held in Vienna, Austria May 30 through June 4.
Hailey Van Lith has been named to the 2023 USA 3×3 World Cup Team 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
📄 https://t.co/v2R0cqNcEj pic.twitter.com/51BQUHPT8h
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) May 18, 2023
Van Lith is no stranger to the FIBA 3×3 World Cup, as she played on USA Basketball’s U18 team in 2019 where she was named tournament MVP. The 5-foot-7 guard also competed in last year’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup alongside Cierra Burdick, Lauren Cox and Ashley Joens.
This year, Van Lith will again play alongside the former Tennessee and WNBA standout Burdick, as well as former Ohio State star Linnae Harper, and 6-foot-4 Stanford All-American Cameron Brink.
Here. We. Go. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Introducing the 2023 USA Women's 3×3 World Cup Team!
— USA Basketball 3×3 (@usab3x3) May 18, 2023
Van Lith is just one of several LSU stars who will be featured in USA Basketball events this summer. Angel Reese will play on Team USA in the FIBA Women’s World Cup in a couple of months, while transfer Aneesah Morrow has earned a camp invite and will also have the opportunity to earn a roster spot on that team.
Meanwhile, incoming 6-foot-5 freshman Aalyah Del Rosario will be competing in the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Spain in July.
The 3×3 tournament will continue what has been a busy couple of months for Van Lith. Not long after her former squad Louisville lost to Iowa in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in March, Van Lith announced she was entering the transfer portal, becoming one of the most sought-after players available in women’s college basketball this offseason.
With her previous ties to current LSU head coach Kim Mulkey who recruited Van Lith while she was at Baylor, the talented guard seemed destined to become a Tiger, and the news was made official in late April.
eleven pic.twitter.com/GIRiJUgT8r
— HVL (@haileyvanlith) April 27, 2023
Can’t wait to see @haileyvanlith in purple and gold 🤩#HVL2LSU | #GeauxTigers pic.twitter.com/0jsHHNdaOM
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) April 28, 2023
After earning All-ACC first-team honors for the second consecutive year last season as she averaged 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists, Van Lith will join the reigning national champions as she fills the void left behind by Alexis Morris, who was selected No. 22 overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun.
With two years of eligibility remaining, Van Lith has now become part of a talented core looking to repeat as national champions that also features a unanimous first-team All-American in Reese, a talented third-team All-American in Morrow, and reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Flau’jae Johnson.
LSU IS STACKED 🤯 pic.twitter.com/isIC72o9Lx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 5, 2023
Meanwhile, Van Lith has also continued to find success off the court. Last weekend, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Louisville, earning a bachelor’s degree in finance. Van Lith also remains a star in the NIL space with a valuation of $506K. When it comes to women’s college basketball, that trails only her new teammates Reese and Johnson, as well as Iowa star Caitlin Clark, and UConn standout Paige Bueckers.
While the sky’s the limit for her first season at LSU, the focus for Van Lith right now will be shining once again at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup. Last year, Team USA failed to medal after losing to Canada in the quarterfinals. This year, with Van Lith returning alongside some of the other top talent across women’s basketball, Team USA might very well find itself back on top.
