Hailey Van Lith spills her pre-draft desires on wanting to be a Chicago Sky

Hailey Van Lith may have had the best college basketball turnaround in the 2025 WNBA Draft Class when she elected to enter the transfer portal a second time to leave LSU for TCU.

Van Lith shined in her expanded role and became the first player to bring three schools to the Elite Eight and reaching the Elite Eight in five consecutive seasons. The Washington native also significantly increased her draft stock and was selected with the 11th pick in the WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky.

Van Lith discussed her initial pre-draft conversations with the franchise in her Introductory press conference for Chicago. She said while she didn't want to put her eggs in one basket, the Chicago Sky seemed to be the best fit for her.

“Deep in my heart I wanted to come to the Sky," Van Lith said. "Just with the two quick conversations I had, I felt a ton of alignment and felt like they saw who I was as a player. I felt valued so I was hoping I was available when Chicago’s picks came.”

Van Lith was the second pick for the Sky on Monday. The team selected Slovenian forward Ajša Sivka with the tenth pick in the draft. Both players will provide depth for a Sky roster that is in a rebuild mode, with Angel Reese being the face of the franchise.

Reese and Van Lith previously played together at LSU and have maintained a strong friendship since Reese entered the league and Van Lith left for Texas. While at TCU, Van Lith averaged 17.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 82. 7 percent from the free throw line.

She also earned Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in her lone season for the Horned Frogs.

Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese are the guard-to-big duo of the future in Chicago

The puzzling piece of the Chicago Sky's draft board is that the Windy City franchise selected several guards while already being loaded in the backcourt. The Sky's guards are led by Moriah Jefferson, Rachel Banham, and Courtney Vandersloot.

Van Lith will have to work her way into the starting lineup, but will certainly be groomed to take over the starting role at some point, as the chemistry between her and Reese will be a deciding factor.

Banham is a three-point specialist, Jefferson should be back to form after recovering from injury last season and Vandersloot is coming off a two-year stint that saw her come off the bench last year to lead the second unit.

The jury is out on what year one will look like for Van Lith, but there's no doubt that former LSU Tigers Van Lith and Reese are the future in Chicago.