The transfer portal has become a vital part of college basketball in recent years. A pandemic-era change to the system means that every player now gets one "immediate transfer". This put an end to the rule that transferring players must sit out the subsequent season after joining their new school. This rule came under heavy scrunity after the debacle surrounding James Wiseman, who essentially played no games in college due to transfer ineligibility.
This increased freedom of movement has been monumental in college basketball. When NIL deals are factored in, the players have more power than ever. We saw the impact that the portal can have last year as Kim Mulkey essentially built LSU's National Championship out of it. Furthermore, 15 Sweet 16 teams started at least one transfer in this year's NCAA Tournament. And with a wealth of high-value talent in the portal this year, is Mulkey about to do it again?
Reese Tweets As Van Lith Visits LSU
Hailey Van Lith's entry into the transfer portal was a shocking twist in the college basketball offseason. Van Lith is a three-year starter for the Louisville Cardinals and already hit triple digits in games started. Despite standing 5"7, she is a deadly shooter who has improved her points per game year-on-year and is a career 42.2% field scorer. She led Louisville to at least the Elite Eight in all three seasons. ESPN ranked Van Lith #1 on their list of top players in the women's transfer portal. On Tuesday, various outlets reported that Van Lith was in Baton Rogue for an official visit with LSU. The #7 prospect in the 2020 class, Van Lith chose Louisville over Kim Mulkey-led Baylor.
Reese's only comment on the situation was a single-emoji tweet that day, showing the emoji face covering its face with its hands. It's easy to interpret this as representing Reese's "you can't see me" taunt that she directed at Caitlin Clark during the 2023 National Championship Game. Fans have taken this to mean that Van Lith is LSU-bound and that Reese is predicting another championship game appearance. Both players will be eligible for the WNBA draft in 2024 and both are currently predicted to be top-5 picks.
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