2024 Women’s Basketball, Draft and Transfer Portal

[LSUDad]

Hailey Van Lith doesn't declare for WNBA draft as deadline passes
 

Will Rosenblatt 

 

April 4, 2024 10:36 am CT

 

Who are Candace Parker's bracket buster team's for the Women's NCAA Tournament?

 

The deadline to declare for the WNBA draft came and went on Wednesday, and LSU’s Hailey Van Lith is yet to announce her plans.

Angel Reese declared and the assumption was Van Lith would too. Both were honored at LSU’s senior day last month, but official decisions were up in the air.

With Reese off to the WNBA, Van Lith’s next step is still unclear. It’s possible she silently declared, but if she didn’t, that could mean a return to LSU is in the fold.

Van Lith passing on the draft doesn’t guarantee a return to LSU. The senior guard could opt to hit the transfer portal again and explore her options elsewhere.

Van Lith’s numbers at LSU were below the standard she set at Louisville, but with Reese gone, Van Lith has the chance to take center stage on next year’s team.

Van Lith, along with Flau'Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams could form one of the nation’s most dynamic backcourts

[LSUDad]

BREAKING: LSU’s Hailey Van Lith has entered the transfer portal. 

She averaged 11.6 ppg and 3.6 apg at LSU this year after transferring in from Louisville. In her junior year at Louisville, she averaged 19.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 3.2 apg.

(Via goodmansport / X)

[LSUDad]

Best of luck to her. Thanks for everything. 
Very deserving!!!

Edited April 5 by LSUDad

[LSUDad]

BATON ROUGE – Angel Reese was officially invited to attend Monday’s WNBA Draft the league announced Thursday on social media.

Reese is one of 15 players who are invited to this year’s draft. The WNBA draft will be on Monday, April 15 inside the Brooklyn Academy of Music. ESPN will broadcast the WNBA Draft beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT and will have a pre-show which will begin at 6 p.m.

In two seasons at LSU, Reese tallied 61 double-doubles, scoring in double figures in all 67 games of her LSU career. She set the NCAA record with 34 double-doubles throughout the 2022-23 national championship season and had 27 over the past season. Reese recorded a double-double in all 10 of her NCAA Tournament games at LSU, tied for the most consecutive double-doubles in tournament history. She averaged 20.9 points and 14.4 rebounds per game at LSU.

Reese is anticipated to become the 23rd LSU player drafted into the WNBA and the 24th coached by Kim Mulkey.

[houtiger]

"Lastly, the LSU women’s team lost a player to the portal yesterday when freshman Guard Janae Kent announced she would transfer. Kent is the second freshman from the Tigers’ top-ranked 2023 class to hit the portal. The first was point guard Angelica Velez. Kent played just eight minutes per game for LSU in a reserve role this past season, though she did get one big start in the SEC title game against South Carolina. "

I honestly don't understand these freshmen leaving LSU after one season.  They may not have played much, but they are freshmen.  That does not mean they won't play in the future.  Both are guards, and with HVL leaving, that is a starters spot open.  Yes, we have a top freshman point guard signed from Lafayette Christian, but she may not work out and one of these two, their job becomes to beat her and EARN the spot.  There is going to be competition anywhere they go.  Could it be NIL related?  I doubt it, they probably won't make much anywhere, but I could be wrong.  Is there something going on in the locker room, or with the coaching staff?  It looks odd to me.

[LSUDad]

Draft Day! 
 

 

[LSUDad]

More! 
 

 

[LSUDad]

 

[LSUDad]

 

[LSUDad]

Former LSU guard Hailey Van Lith announced her commitment to TCU, according to Talia Goodman. She will have one season of eligibility remaining for the Horned Frogs.

Van Lith averaged 11.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game for the Tigers last season. 

Van Lith started her career at Louisville, leading the Cardinals to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Wichita Regional during Louisville's run to the Final Four in 2022. 

[LSUDad]

Kim just loaded up a roster:

 

BREAKING: LSU women's basketball signs three guards from transfer portal

 

By TigerBait Staff

April 24, 2024

 

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BATON ROUGE – LSU Coach Kim Mulkey has announced the addition of Shayeann Day-Wilson, Kailyn Gilbert and Mjracle (pronounced Miracle) Sheppard, three guards who will bolster the Tigers’ perimeter depth.

They will join transfer forward Jersey Wolfenbarger and Jada Richard, Louisiana’s high school player of the year, as the five new additions on LSU’s roster heading into the 2024-25 season.

“We could not be more excited to add Shayeann, Kailyn and Mjracle to the LSU family,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “The three of them will add a combination of experience and depth on the perimeter for us and will bolster our roster to continue to compete at an elite level.”

Mjracle Sheppard: Guard, 5-10, Kent, Washington

Sheppard will join the Tigers after spending her freshman season in Starkville at Mississippi State.

During her freshman season at MSU, Sheppard averaged 5.1 points and 2.1 assists per game with 48 total steals. She scored in double figures in three games with a career high of 14 against Jacksonville State. She also had 3+ steals in six games, including a career high of 7 against Kennesaw State.

A native of Kent, Washington, Sheppard went to Montverde Academy in Florida for high school where she became a four-star recruit. She was a critical piece in helping lead Montverde to the 2021-22 National Championship. During the championship run, Sheppard led the team with 4.2 assists per game and added 7.2 points game. She also led the team with 2.6 steals per game en route to the championship.

Kailyn Gilbert: Guard, 5-8, Tampa Bay, Florida

Gilbert will come to LSU after spending the previous two seasons at Arizona. After averaging 4.9 points as a freshman, Gilbert saw a big jump to 15.1 points per game during her sophomore season. She had a total of 88 assists during her two seasons in Tucson.

She scored over 20 points in six games during her sophomore season and earned one Pac 12 Player of the Week honor. Just as Gilbert saw her scoring output take a jump from her freshman season to sophomore season, her assists went from 1.1 per game as a freshman to 2.3 during this past season.

Gilbert finished her high school career at IMG Academy.  Throughout her high school career she was a three-time First Team All-State selection and two-time Hillsborough County Player of the Year. She was ranked at the No. 31 player in her class by ESPN HoopGurlz in the class of 2022.

Shayeann Day-Wilson: Guard, 5-6, Toronto, Ontario

Day-Wilson, the 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year, comes to LSU after spending a season at Miami and before that, two seasons at Duke. In three seasons, Day-Wilson has averaged 10.8 points per game with 300 assists and 79 steals. She has started 71 games and played in a total of 93 games throughout her college career.

Over the past season, Day-Wilson scored in double figures in 14-18 ACC games, including a stretch of 12 in a row. She set her career-high with 27 points, going 5-11 from three-point range, during a double overtime game against Georgia Tech. She tallied 5+ assists in six games, including a career-high 9 assists in a game against Jacksonville.

During her sophomore season at Duke, Day-Wilson scored in double figures in 12 games and led the Blue Devils with 2.5 assists per game. During her freshman season, the ACC coaches voted Day-Wilson as the ACC Freshman of the Year. She led all ACC freshmen with 12.7 points and 3.7 assists per game. She earned three ACC Freshman of the Week honors and one USBWA National Freshman of the Week accolade.

The Toronto, Ontario native Day Wilson was the top-rated Canadian guard in the class of 2021, ranked No. 41 overall in the class according to ESPN HoopGurlz. In high school she led Crestwood Prep to back-to-back OSBA High School State Championships and was a Bio Steel All-Canadian player, equivalent to a McDonalds All-America selection. She played on numerous Canadian national teams too, including on the U23 Canada team that won the gold medal at the inaugural GLOBLJAM International Basketball Showcase in 2022 and with the U19 Canada team the 2021 FIBA World Cup in Hungary.