hailey van lith: "He took a risk on me": Hailey Van Lith makes her feelings clear on Mark Campbell recruiting her to TCU amid emotional farewell

"He took a risk on me": Hailey Van Lith makes her feelings clear on Mark Campbell recruiting her to TCU amid emotional farewell

NCAA Womens Basketball: NCAA Tournament Birmingham Regional-Elite 8 Texas vs TCU - Source: Imagn — Mark Campbell and Hailey Van Lith (10) played a key role on TCU's on a special run. - Source: Imagn

TCU guard Hailey Van Lith played her final game of college basketball on Monday. After the Horned Frogs lost 58-47 to the Texas Longhorns in the Elite Eight round and were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, the senior guard expressed her appreciation for TCU coach Mark Campbell.

“He thanks me for coming to the program but he took a risk on me," Van Lith said. "And he met me with full belief and he had a vision of who he thought I could be.

"At the beginning, he probably was convincing me that I could be that person. I wasn't necessarily in a place where I even knew who I was anymore. [HC Mark Campbell] has just breathed life into me."

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The pairing of Mark Campbell and Van Lith was an unlikely one. Campbell was named the Horned Frogs coach before the 2023-2024 season. The program was coming off an 8-23 season and things got so bad for TCU in Campbell’s initial season that they had to forfeit a couple of conference games due to lack of players.

With only one year of eligibility left after three seasons at Louisville and one more at LSU, Hailey Van Lith took a shot on Campbell and a TCU program that had not made an NCAA Tournament appearance in 15 years. The pairing worked wonderfully for both.

The Wenatchee, Washington native averaged 17.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists this season and was considered one of the top guards in college basketball.

In her final college game, Van Lith led Texas Christian with 17 points and eight rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for the Horned Frogs, making the first Elite Eight appearance in school history.

Mark Campbell recognizes Hailey Van Lith’s impact on TCU

Just like the guard hailed her head coach for the impact he had on her, Mark Campbell also gave Hailey Van Lith credit for what she did at the school in her only year at TCU.

"I have a hard time believing that anybody, in any sport, in one year, can have a greater impact than what Hailey Van Lith has had at TCU," Mark Campbell said.

Besides taking the school to its first Elite Eight participation, Van Lith also set new records for points and assists in a season.

The bronze medalist at the Paris Olympic games is now expected to enter the WNBA Draft while Mark Campbell will look to build on the Horned Frogs March Madness run to strengthen the program.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

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