Hold onto your basketball shorts, ladies and gents, because one of the best women’s college hoops players in the country just made a shocking decision! According to On3’s Jamie Shaw, lefty Louisville star Hailey Van Lith has entered the Transfer Portal. As a true junior in 2022-23, Van Lith has been dominating the game, averaging 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while earning All-ACC honors for the second straight season.

With up to two years of eligibility left, Hailey Van Lith (or “HVL” for those in the know) becomes perhaps the top name in the women’s Transfer Portal. If not the best, she’s surely one of the most fun to watch. This electric southpaw point guard can flat out score at the college level, making her a massive pickup for whichever lucky school lands her in the portal.

Not only is she an insanely talented athlete, but HVL is also one of the most popular athletes in college athletics, with an On3 NIL valuation of $511,000. RT. That ranks her 96th in On3’s NIL 100, and she’s the seventh highest women’s college basketball player. Her brand is no joke – she’s carefully crafted it with some major deals, including partnerships with adidas and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Could her sportswear brand partnership influence where she decides to transfer? Only time will tell!

Now, for those who might be unfamiliar with the world of the NCAA Transfer Portal, let’s break it down for you. It’s a private database with the names of student-athletes who wish to transfer, covering every NCAA sport at the Division I, II, and III levels. Once a player provides written notification of their intent to transfer, their school’s compliance office enters their name into the database. From there, other schools can contact the player, and the athlete can change their mind at any point and withdraw from the portal. But be warned, once a player enters the portal, their current scholarship no longer has to be honored.

So, with HVL now in the transfer portal, the big question is where she’ll end up. We can’t predict the future, but we can say one thing for sure – wherever she lands, that school is about to get a whole lot more exciting on the basketball court. Stay tuned, sports fans, because this story is far from over.