May 5, 2026
Just over a year ago, Hailey Van Lith was one of the most talked-about names in women’s basketball. Today, she’s a free agent looking for a second chance in the W.
The Chicago Sky made it official on Monday, waiving the former No. 11 overall pick from the 2025 WNBA Draft and simultaneously signing veteran point guard Natasha Cloud. According to reports, the decision came down to the coaching staff’s “style-of-play preference” — which is a polite way of saying Van Lith simply didn’t fit what the new-look Sky are trying to build.
It’s a stunning fall for a player who arrived in the league with legitimate buzz.
How We Got Here
Van Lith’s road to the pros was anything but conventional. After three standout seasons at Louisville — including back-to-back All-ACC First Team nods — she transferred to LSU, where things didn’t go as planned. A reduced role alongside Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson, combined with a brutal Elite Eight loss to Caitlin Clark, left her draft stock in a rough place.
Rather than enter the draft, she used her remaining eligibility and transferred again — this time to TCU. The move paid off. She thrived in a spread pick-and-roll system under Mark Campbell, led the Horned Frogs to their first-ever Elite Eight, earned Big 12 Player of the Year honors, and re-positioned herself as a first-round prospect. In 172 career college games — tied for the most in Division I history — she averaged 15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
Chicago picked her up with a first-round selection and expressed confidence in her “winning ability and versatility.” The honeymoon didn’t last long.
A Rookie Year to Forget
Van Lith’s first season in the W was derailed almost immediately. Persistent ankle injuries (eventually requiring offseason surgery), limited floor time, and fundamental concerns about her fit at the pro level all added up. In 29 games, she averaged just 12.4 minutes, 3.5 points, and 1.6 assists while shooting a difficult-to-overlook 33.9% from the field and 16.1% from three.
The core issue is a hard one to overcome: she’s a 5-foot-9 guard who isn’t a reliable jump shooter. At the professional level, that combination makes sustained minutes extremely difficult to come by, regardless of pedigree.
And even before Cloud was brought in, the roster math had already worked against Van Lith. Chicago added Skylar Diggins, re-signed Courtney Vandersloot, and acquired Jacy Sheldon in a trade — none of which left any room for a developing young guard still searching for her niche.
What’s Next?
This isn’t necessarily the end of Van Lith’s WNBA career — not by a long shot.
She’s 24 years old, a former first-round pick, and still carries the kind of name recognition that gets you in the door. The league now has 15 teams with the additions of the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, and the new CBA mandates full 12-player rosters plus two developmental spots per team. That’s meaningful roster space.
Van Lith’s camp is reportedly in active conversations with multiple teams. Portland and Seattle have been floated as natural fits — both are building long-term projects, and Van Lith’s Pacific Northwest roots could make her a genuine draw for either franchise.
Could she land a developmental spot and quietly rebuild her game? Absolutely. The W has seen plenty of players take a year to find their footing. But the clock is ticking, and the margin for error is getting thinner.
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