Hailey Van Lith was one of the most popular players in college basketball during her five NCAA seasons (three at Louisville, one at LSU, then one at TCU). And Van Lith's extremely successful final college season with the Horned Frogs is what prompted the Chicago Sky to draft her with the No. 11 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Van Lith struggled to make a consistent impact with Chicago in her rookie campaign, even after veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot suffered a torn ACL injury that seemed to have created an opportunity for HVL.

However, young players often take time (and require patience) to develop, and the 2026 preseason that Van Lith put together had many believing she was poised for a breakout campaign.…