Fans left divided over emotional Hailey Van Lith-Mark Campbell moment: "Hands off the merchandise","Knowing it's the end is definitely a feeling"

After five seasons in three schools, Hailey Van Lith wrapped her college career on Monday as her TCU Horned Frogs lost 58-47 to No. 1 seed Texas in the Elite Eight round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The guard finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

After the loss, TCU coach Mark Campbell shared a long hug with Van Lith. ESPN shared the video on X and wrote:

"Hailey Van Lith embraces her coach after her last collegiate game ❤️."

Fans were divided with the action from the coach, as one wrote:

"Hands off the merchandise, pal."

"Way too long of a hug. Get off my gal," another wrote.

"This looks a little too close…," one fan commented

Meanwhile, some fans saw this as an emotional moment for the guard who has been through her fair share of ups and downs in college.

"Looks like her coach is embracing her knowing she’s gone. He doesn’t want to let go 😂," one commented.

"It's her last collegiate game, so it's basically farewell from her coach," another wrote

"Knowing it's the end is definitely a feeling..," one commented.

As a fifth-year senior, Hailey Van Lith averaged 17.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per contest.

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Hailey Van Lith thanks Mark Campbell for helping her through struggles

After three seasons with the Louisville Cardinals, Hailey Van Lith transferred to LSU in hopes of winning a national championship. However, she endured one of her worst seasons and chose to forgo the draft last season, extending her time in college by transferring to TCU.

While many doubted her decision, the move to Texas proved useful for the guard, especially working with coach Mark Campbell.

“He took me at face-value. He thanks me for coming to the program but he took a risk on me," Van Lith said during her post game presser. "And he met me with full belief, and he had a vision of who he thought I could be.

She also spoke about the life lessons she learned:

"From a life perspective, he's taught me a lot of great lessons about how to have ... and what it takes to have healthy relationships, and how much better life could be if you just let people see who you are. And that's hard for me.

"So for me to feel comfortable and safe doing that with him, that took a lot of work from his part, and he did not have to do it. He could have told me to screw off when I was giving him problems. I'm forever grateful for him and god put him in my life to transform it and he certainly has done that."

Hailey Van Lith will declare for the 2025 WNBA draft and is expected to be a top-10 pick.