Hailey Van Lith has been here before. The pressure, the lights, and the drama of March. However, this time, everything felt different. On Sunday, the senior guard played a major role in leading the No. 2 seed TCU Horned Frogs to an 85–70 win over the No. 7 seed Louisville Cardinals.
This is the program’s first-ever trip to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Women’s Tournament. While there is no denying the greatness of Van Lith on the court, it turns out that off the court, she has been struggling.
Hailey Van Lith Makes an Emotional Confession
But Van Lith has been battling a much tougher opponent than her former team. In a recent video posted by Nick Girimonte on X, she is seen opening up about her mental health struggles. And the transformation she has undergone.
“The way that I got exposed to the media and social media at such a young age, I really struggled with mental health things. When I was younger and in college, I was suicidal, I was heavily medicated, and I felt trapped,” Van Lith said.
“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,” she goes on to say.
Hailey Van Lith talks about her mental health struggles throughout her college career, and how this year has been such a blessing for her.
Really powerful message worth watching from the TCU guard pic.twitter.com/AzNU4oLPQw
— Nick Girimonte (@GirimonteNicky) March 24, 2025
Before TCU, Hailey Van Lith studied at Louisville and LSU. At Louisville, she earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors in 2021 after averaging 11.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while helping her team reach the Elite Eight.
In her sophomore year, she led her team to the Final Four with four consecutive 20-point performances and earned Most Outstanding Player of the Wichita Regional. However, post her transfer from TCU, her stats dropped.
At LSU, Van Lith’s scoring saw a fall. She had only 11.6 points per game. But she was a key player with a season-high 26 points against Tennessee and helping the Tigers reach the Elite Eight in 2024.
Post this, she re-entered the transfer portal. By this time, Van Lith was a popular name. That meant criticism and the unrelenting demands of being in the public eye.
As Van Lith puts it, she “didn’t even want to live.” However, soon there was a turning point that changed her story for the better.
Van Lith Finds Hope in Faith
Soon, Van Lith found faith. “To come from that to this is incredible,” she said. “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 I think that this is the year, and this is the moment, that He wants people to know my story and how He’s just taken me literally from the depths of wanting to die to this moment of loving life.”
The pressures of transferring, combined with the criticism from outsiders and the expectations of being a high-profile athlete, once made her question her own choices. However, she has learned how to separate external noise from her own self-worth.
“Even if basketball went away today, I truly would want to be here and love these people,” she said. “So that’s really my story with God, and He’s so powerful. That’s what I mean when I say that He’s delivered me from literally the worst suffering ever.”
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This shift was not just about basketball. It was about learning to value herself beyond the sport. Van Lith even stepped away from social media, sought help from a sports psychologist, and made a conscious effort to take control of her mental health.
Today, she is a different player. And no doubt, her stats are great as ever.
So what’s next for Van Lith?
Well, she is on the road to creating history yet again. Thanks to the roster, TCU is 20-0 at home and on an 11-game win streak! If they manage to keep this up and the Hailey Van Lith points come along, this could be one for TCU history.
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