As they look to vault themselves back into being competitive, the Sky might have found an ideal co-star for forward Angel Reese in the WNBA Draft on Monday.
With the No. 11 pick, which they got in a trade with the Lynx on Sunday, they selected point guard Hailey Van Lith from TCU — a former college teammate of Reese. The two were starters together on LSU’s 2023-24 Elite Eight team.
Earlier, the Sky took versatile Slovenian forward Ajsa Sivka with the No. 10 pick. She and Van Lith should help spread the floor by drawing attention outside and creating space for Reese and center Kamilla Cardoso.
Like Reese, Van Lith enters the WNBA with plenty of fame. She won a bronze medal in the Olympics last year in three-on-three basketball, had NIL deals with Adidas and other major brands in college, has 1.3 million followers on Instagram and modeled for Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue last week.
As a high school standout, Van Lith befriended Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi and trained at Mamba Sports Academy.
She was ecstatic to reunite with Reese, who immediately posted on X that she was happy about the pick.
“We both respect each other’s game and the character and person we are off the court,” said Van Lith, who added that the two have kept in close contact since they left LSU. “I’m excited to be around her again. We have a lot of similarities on how we carry ourselves. She turns up the intensity of every-body around her, and I’m excited to be in that environment with her again where she can pull more out of me than I think I have.”
They’re an ideal fit on the court because, as Van Lith said, they both value “toughness, resilience, grittiness” and their skills meshed well at LSU.
“She’s willing to do things that aren’t pretty to win, like aggressive rebounding, defense and things that aren’t what we call ‘sexy basketball,’ ” Van Lith said “She’s willing to execute those things to get a win, and I share that character trait with her.”
Van Lith, 23, played at Louisville and LSU before transferring to TCU for her final season. She averaged 17.9 points, 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals for the Horned Frogs, along with shooting 33.8% from three-point range, and helped them reach the Elite Eight. She was Big 12 Player of the Year and a third-team All-America selection.
Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said Van Lith could play point or shooting guard, depending on what the team needs as it works through training camp, which starts later this month.
He described Sivka, just 19, as more of a developmental pick and is counting on new coach Tyler Marsh and his staff to help her improve to become “much more than just a shooter.”
Pagliocca said the Sky had good discussions with Sivka leading up to the draft, but he noted there will be “ongoing conversations” with her about coming from Slovenia to the WNBA and that he hopes her arrival is “sooner rather than later.” For her part, Sivka said she was eager to team up with stars such as Reese.
“I can’t wait to start,” she added.
Sivka’s upside is she already has experience facing much older players after competing on a pro team in France last season.
The Sky also chose Notre Dame forward Maddy Westbeld in the second round at No. 16 overall and Texas A&M guard Aicha Coulibaly at No. 22.
The rest of the draft will have significant ramifications for the Sky as well. The Wings got it started by taking three-time All-America point guard Paige Bueckers from UConn, who long has been expected to be the next big WNBA star. Bueckers led the Huskies to the national championship earlier this month. The Sky will face her twice in a row late next month with a home game May 29 and a visit to Dallas two days later.
French center Dominique Malonga went second to the Storm, and the Mystics drafted Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron third. The Sky initially held the No. 3 pick but traded it to the Mystics in February for two-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins.
Former Simeon standout Aneesah Morrow gave a shoutout to the South Side of Chicago after the Sun drafted her seventh. Morrow began her college career at DePaul before transferring to LSU.
