Hailey Van Lith sets pulses racing on Sport Illustrated Swimsuit debut as she gears up for WNBA Draft

College basketball star Hailey Van Lith is making more than one debut this year ahead of April’s WNBA Draft. 

Before taking to the WNBA stage for the first time later this year, the 23-year-old starred as a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit rookie. 

Off the back of an impressive collegiate career, Van Lith wowed as she showed off her athletic, toned physique in a number of stunning swimsuits. 

Styled by hair stylist Paul Norton and makeup artist Katherine Ann Mellinger, Van Lith sported a black halter neck one-piece as she stunned on the cover. 

She maintained the monochromatic theme throughout, striking a pose in a black-and-white cowhide print bikini, a two-tone triangle two-piece and a shimmery nude swimsuit with a black cropped tank top hanging off her shoulder at the Fort Worth, Texas photoshoot. 

The TCU alumna joins a star-studded cast of student athletes to have graced the pages of the magazine’s swimsuit edition, including LSU gymnastic sensation Livvy Dunne. 

Van Lith wowed as she showed off her athletic, toned physique in Fort Worth, Texas

Van Lith’s debut for Sports Illustrated comes off the back of a standout season for the guard. 

With the Horned Frogs, Van Lith became the first player in NCAA history, men’s or women’s, to have appeared in the Elite Eight round of the March Madness tournament five times. 

It capped off an impressive campaign for Van Lith, who was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and helped TCU to its first appearance in the tournament since 2010.

Van Lith averaged 11.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as a freshman with Louisville.

After helping the Cardinals to the ACC regular season title and the Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA tournament, she went on to earn two All-ACC First-Team honors.

Her achievements spurred her to enter the transfer portal to chase her championship ambitions, where she joined LSU.

Yet her career with the Tigers didn’t go to plan. LSU failed to replicate their success of the previous season, losing to Iowa in the Elite Eight in a game where Van Lith was heavily criticized for failing to guard Caitlin Clark.

And during this year’s tournament, Van Lith candidly opened up on her struggled with mental health. 

Her debut for Sports Illustrated comes off the back of a standout season for the guard 

‘The day that I got exposed to the media and social media at such a young age, I really struggled with mental health,’ Van Lith said. ‘When I was younger in college I was suicidal, I was heavily medicated, and I felt trapped.

‘And you would never know, because I was having a ton of success on the court. But, internally and in life in general, I was ready to be done. That’s what I mean when I speak on suffering and pain, it’s like I didn’t even want to live.’

However, she has enjoyed a comeback with the Horned Frogs this year, something she credits her faith for.

‘To come from that to this is incredible, and I’ve been praying all year, like, ‘God I know you’ve given me this testimony to share it with the world and shed your light’ and this is the moment that he wants people to know my story,’ Van Lith added on Sunday. ‘How he’s just taken me from literally the depths of wanting to die to this moment of loving life.

‘Even if basketball went away today, I truly would want to be here and love these people. So that’s really my story with God and he’s so powerful. He’s literally delivered me from the worst suffering ever.’