SEATTLE — It’s almost hard to remember a time when Hailey Van Lith was only Washington’s.
A prodigious basketball talent, Van Lith has emerged as one of the most recognizable women’s basketball stars amid a rising wave of interest in the sport. Her skills on the court have taken her from Cashmere — the small town of fewer than 3,300 residents nestled on U.S. Route 2 between Leavenworth and Wenatchee — to Louisville, Ky., Baton Rouge, La., and soon, Fort Worth, Texas, for her 2024-25 season with TCU.
She’s played in the Final Four of the NCAA women’s tournament and three Elite Eights. She’s won FIBA World Cups at youth levels in Belarus and Thailand. Now, Van Lith can add Paris to her list, too.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” she said. “You never know if this chance will come again, so I’m going to treat it like it’s the only one I’m going to get.”
Van Lith was named to the United States women’s 3×3 basketball team on June 5, one of 62 athletes with ties to Washington. She’s the only collegiate player named to any of the four USA basketball teams. More importantly, Van Lith is excited to represent Cashmere, Wenatchee and the state on the Olympic stage.
“I know everywhere I go,” Van Lith said, “that I’m representing them.”
Van Lith’s appearance on the 3×3 team is the result of years of tournaments with Team USA basketball. Along with her youth national team World Cup wins, she also won the 3×3 Under-18 World Cup in Mongolia in 2019.
The 5-foot-7 guard said all that experience with USA Basketball helped her earn a place in Paris. It also required lots of sacrifice. Van Lith said most tournaments take place in the summer, her offseason, but being around the program helped her understand what they were looking for during this Olympic cycle.
“I’ve been building this since I was like a freshman in high school,” she said. “We waited this one out, but it was worth it.”
Corey Van Lith, Hailey’s father, said at times it’s been easy to take all his daughter’s accomplishments and accolades for granted as she plays in big game after big game. He said he was still wrapping his head around the idea his daughter was an Olympian, and it likely won’t really hit him until the family lands in Paris.
However, the emotion was evident in his voice, cracking suddenly as he reflected on her path to the Olympics.
“It’s just been a journey,” Corey Van Lith said. “I think she’s had an incredible career, and her career’s not even close to being over. But this is definitely at the top, and no matter what she does, it will always be at the top.”
Corey Van Lith said he felt his daughter had a shot at the Paris Olympics after she won the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Austria with teammates Cameron Brink, Cierra Burdick and Linnae Harper. Hailey Van Lith added that she thought she had a strong tryout, and appreciated USA basketball for continuing to offer her opportunities.
Burdick and Brink were also selected with Van Lith for the Paris Olympics, along with two-time WNBA All-Star and former No. 1 overall pick Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream.
For Van Lith, the chance to share this experience with her teammates — particularly Brink, whose friendship with Van Lith is well documented on their various social-media accounts — made the Olympics an even more exciting opportunity.
On June 18, however, Brink tore her left ACL during a game between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Connecticut Sun. Van Lith said it was “heartbreaking” to see her friend get injured right before the Olympics after spending the past few years playing together with Paris in mind.
“It’s a part of sports, and Cam’s a tough girl,” Van Lith said. “She’s not going to let this derail her in any way, and Cam would want us to move on and continue to prepare.”
USA Basketball replaced Brink with multi-time All-Star and two-time WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Dearica Hamby. Van Lith, who aspires to play in the WNBA following her final season of college basketball, said being around players with the professional pedigrees of Hamby, Howard and Burdick has been a great learning experience.
She’s also excited to continue to introduce people to 3×3 basketball. Van Lith said it’s a more physical game because of how it’s officiated. Hand-checking, holding and hip checks are all generally allowed. Players must have elite conditioning because of the small rosters and the fast pace of play. Van Lith called 3×3 basketball a “10-minute sprint”
The sport was first included during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when Team USA — led by two-time WNBA champion and former Washington standout Kelsey Plum — won gold. Now, it’s Van Lith’s turn to help Team USA try to retain its title.
“It’s hard to put it into words to describe how big of an opportunity, how excited I am,” Van Lith said. “I feel more and more excited as the days count down, so I can’t imagine what it’s going to feel like when we actually get to Paris.”
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