6 Things You Didn’t Know About Hailey Van Lith

Mara Milam | Apr 8, 2025

Hailey Van Lith was photographed by Taylor Ballantyne in Fort Worth, Texas. Swimsuit by Vitamin A Swim. / Taylor Ballantyne/Sports Illustrated

Hailey Van Lith has been one of the most-talked-about players this season. The Washington native just finished her final collegiate season with TCU, and the world is eagerly awaiting the upcoming WNBA draft to see where her professional career will take her. Her reputation precedes her. She was named a McDonald’s All-American and entered college as one of the top recruits in her class. During her three seasons in Louisville, she earned first-team All-ACC honors twice and made a Final Four appearance. At LSU she averaged 11.6 points and 3.6 assists per game. Last July she won a bronze medal for Team USA in 3x3 basketball at the Paris Olympics. Most recently, Van Lith elevated her game even further at TCU, averaging 17.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. She is now the first player in NCAA history, men’s or women’s, to play in the Elite Eight five times, capping off a remarkable 2024-25 season in which she was named the Big 12 Player of the Year.

Despite her accomplishments, Van Lith has historically kept her personal life relatively private. We had the opportunity to follow along with Hailey throughout her SI Swimsuit photo shoot, getting to know her a little better. Here are a few of the fun things we learned.

Before a game, she’s probably listening to J Cole

Van Lith shared her favorite pregame hype song is G.O.M.D. by J Cole, so there’s a good chance this is what she’s listening to before hitting the court.

She’s a natural blonde

When asked about the misconceptions people have about her, Van Lith set the record straight: She is in fact a natural blonde.

More Hailey Van Lith Content . https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1744042868/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jr8gwecw8zc42tpzxh.jpg. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1743979619/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jr6mj40vwmkpwmbc4r.jpg. Read the Cover Story. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1743979619/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jr6mj40ve115xdknjp.jpg. View the Full Gallery. More Hailey Van Lith

Batiste is always in her gym bag

Look good. Feel good. Play good. Van Lith always has these three things in her gym bag: “My headphones, my [Batiste] dry shampoo for when having a bad hair day, and then a good chapstick or like Vaseline.”

She doesn’t like to wear makeup during games

Van Lith walked us through her pregame beauty routine and two big things stood out. “Hair is such a big part of it for me because I actually don’t wear a ton of makeup. Obviously, our games get very intense, and I’m gonna have to use the Batiste Sweat Activated Dry Shampoo. I make sure to take care of my skin, because, again, I don’t really like the feel of makeup on my face when I’m playing.”

Her favorite memory in her career is a split between the Olympics and the NCAA Final Four

“Recently I went to the Olympics, so that was so much fun. It was huge deal. I went to a Final Four in college—those big moments,” explained Van Lith about her standout favorite memories. She continued that what truly made them her favorite, though were the people that she shared the experiences with.

Best advice? Learn not to care what other people think

“The biggest message that I would have to young girls who look up to me, whether that’s basketball or life in general, would be that you’re gonna have to conquer that hill of caring about what others think of you,” explained Van Lith. “A lot of our insecurities as women come from the root of caring about other people’s perceptions. So the earlier that you address that and figure out what that means for you, the better off that you’re going to be you.”