A lot of eyes were already going to be on TCU’s women’s basketball team next season.
The Horned Frogs’ first campaign under head coach Mark Campbell was an eventful one this past year as TCU went 13-0 and was ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll for five weeks before the season was derailed by a three-game losing streak that also saw key players like Sedona Prince get injured. In fact, so many TCU players suffered ailments that the team had to forfeit two games – purely because the lack of able bodies – and then had to hold tryouts for walk-ons. Arizona transfer Madison Conner had a strong year, Prince eventually returned, and TCU won 20 games for the first time in four seasons.
So, a lot of folks were ready to see the encore with the roster as it was.
And now, joining Conner in that backcourt is Hailey Van Lith, according to multiple reports on Thursday.
BREAKING: LSU transfer Hailey van Lith is headed to TCU, a source tells @TheNextHoops.
She averaged 11.6 ppg and 3.6 apg last season.
— Talia Goodman (@goodmansport) April 18, 2024
The addition of Van Lith makes TCU a team that we absolutely have to pay attention to in the 2024-25 season.
While Van Lith’s struggles at LSU this past season were well-documented as she tried to turn herself into a pass-first player playing alongside Flau’Jae Johnson and talented posts in Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow, we shouldn’t forget all that she’s accomplished in her career. Consider that, in each of Van Lith’s four college seasons, she’s been to at least the Elite Eight in every one, and helped Louisville reach the Final Four as a sophomore in 2022. Van Lith has played in 17 NCAA Tournament games, averaging 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists across those contests.
And she’s joining a TCU squad that looks stacked, on paper anyways.
Conner was on the Arizona team that went to the national title game in 2021 and was second in the nation in 3-pointers made this past season with 3.7 per game. Prince, while battling that injury, averaged 19.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game while finishing fifth in the nation in blocked shots.
A lot of folks will also be watching this TCU team because of, well, the content!
The two star players here – Van Lith and Prince (with all due respect to Conner) – have massive followings on social media. Just look at these follower numbers:
- Van Lith: 1.1 million on Instagram, 372,000 on TikTok
- Prince: 172,000 on Instagram, 2.7 million on TikTok
Expect the posts to flow out of Forth Worth the same way that 3-pointers do this upcoming season.
