In a speech to fans and boosters, Kim Mulkey thanked Hailey Van Lith and discussed her decision to leave LSU and reenter the NCAA transfer portal.
Van Lith is still searching for a place to play a fifth season of college basketball after she decided not to enter her name into the 2024 WNBA draft.
Neither she nor Mulkey addressed her departure publicly until Thursday, when the LSU women’s basketball team hosted its year-end banquet inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Her aspirations were to get drafted this year,” Mulkey said, “and she realized, ‘I need another year, and I need to go back to a place where I can relax and get back to my normal position.’
“And what do you do? You hug her, and you wish her well.”
Mulkey commended Van Lith’s decision to transfer to LSU and play a new position.
At Louisville, where she spent the first three years of her career, Van Lith played most of her games in an off-ball scoring role. But during her senior year, she was the Tigers’ starting point guard and primary ball handler.
While Van Lith adjusted to the new role, nearly all of her scoring numbers declined.
She took seven fewer shots per game than she did during her junior season and scored eight fewer points per contest. She also shot 38% from the field, a career low, and scored at least 20 points in only four games.
