Hailey Van Lith WNBA Draft: Top 5 landing spots for TCU star ft. Golden State Valkyries

Hailey Van Lith had a great 2024-25 season with TCU, helping the Horned Frogs win the Big 12 Conference and Tournament championships and reach the Elite Eight of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

The LSU transfer averaged 17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.2 steals per contest to be chosen as the Big 12 Player of the Year, Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Big 12 Tournament MVP and the First Team All-Big 12 honors. She was a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and USBWA and was selected as one of the WBCA Coaches' All-American award recipients.

The 5-foot-9 guard played 172 games in five seasons and tallied 15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 42.2% from the field and 84.0% from the free-throw line.

Various WNBA mock drafts expect Van Lith to be picked between the middle portion of the first round and the early part of the second round due to the talent available in this annual activity.

Here are the Top 5 landing spots for the TCU star in the 2025 WNBA draft:

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Top 5 landing spots for TCU guard Hailey Van Lith in the 2025 WNBA draft

#5 Chicago Sky

The trade of Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun and Chicago's non-commitment to re-signing Chennady Carter has opened the guard position for a franchise player that the Sky can pick on Monday. Chicago owns the 10th pick in the annual showcase and could use the selection to draft Hailey Van Lith, who improved on her passing skills under TCU coach Mark Campbell.

If the Sky chooses her, Van Lith will have a reunion with former LSU star Angel Reese and also play with former NCAA rival Kamilla Cardoso.

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4 Los Angeles Sparks

The Los Angeles Sparks can have a do-it-all playmaker in Hailey Van Lith if she slides down to ninth overall. The acquisition of Kelsey Plum via trade signifies the LA Sparks' desire to get a franchise point guard.

If Cameron Brink fully heals from her knee injury and returns to her healthy self and Rickea Jackson continues her improvement as the team's No. 2 scorer, getting Van Lith in the draft could help the Sparks rekindle their old glory and qualify in the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

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#3 Washington Mystics

The Washington Mystics have three first-round draft picks this season and could use one for the 5-foot-9 Van Lith. The TCU point guard can provide stability and leadership for a young franchise, which would need a reliable shooting guard and a small forward who can play on the wing.

Van Lith has proven in her five-year stint with Louisville, LSU and TCU that she can facilitate, find an open teammate and score clutch baskets when needed by her team.

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#2 Connecticut Sun

Connecticut can potentially have a two-headed monster in the guard spot if it picks Hailey Van Lith during the annual draft. The Sun is coming off a 28-12 regular season where they lost to Minnesota in the semifinals despite ranking second in the playoffs.

Securing Van Lith's service would help Marina Mabrey provide the foundation the Sun wanted for their retooled franchise this season.

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#1 Golden State Valkyries

Expansion team Golden State Valkyries would need a young star who can help veteran Tiffany Hayes pick up the slack. Using the draft pick for a willing scorer and playmaker, Hailey Van Lith could help the Valkyries establish a franchise player, while Hayes will play off the bench to provide veteran leadership for the squad.

Although expectations aren't high for the first-year Golden State squad in the WNBA, acquiring someone like Van Lith would facilitate transformation from a non-contending team in its initial campaigns to a strong squad within three to five seasons.