Didn’t declare for the 2024 WNBA draft, but Hailey Van Lith still seems to have some ups over her former LSU teammate, Angel Reese. If the line of medals on the international stage was not enough, Van Lith now has an academic advantage as well over the Chicago Sky star. One of the fan pages of Van Lith shared a post featuring photos of the 22-year-old with her Master’s degree.

Yes, the very academic advantage that Van Lith has over Angel Reese is that Reese only boasts of a bachelor’s degree. The photos were shared by Lith as well on her official Instagram account, featuring her parents in some snaps. “Masters babes🤍 I am blessed and the Lord is good,” she wrote in the caption. It is worth mentioning the 22-year-old has always been bright when it came to academics as well.

Hailey Van Lith was an early graduate from the University of Louisville with a degree in Finance. She earned her degree with Summa Cum Laude honors (with the highest honors), indicating her CGP would have been 3.9 or more on a scale of 4. After three years at Louisville, Lith transferred to LSU.

However, the move did not go as the 22-year-old would’ve desired. While she averaged 19.7 points with 41.1 shooting percentage from the field in her Junior year at Cardinals, the figure came down to 11.6 at LSU. And thus, this is the most popularly reported and seemingly obvious reason to not declare for the 2024 WNBA draft for Lith.

To serve this purpose, Lith is taking her basketball talents to TCU Horned Frogs now. However, it was amid all of this that she completed her Masters from LSU itself. And the 22-year-old desires to study even further after her entry into the pro league.

What are Hailey Van Lith’s future plans?

During an interview with NBC Sports, Lith had once voiced her desire to attend law school as well. The primary reason she stated was that she just enjoys school. “I think I’d be a great lawyer and have the personality for it. I want to push myself to do that… Have goals off the court as well…Love fashion and I’m going to Milan Fashion Week here in the next couple of weeks,” she said during the interview.

The 22-year-old further emphasized the aim is to explore the other parts of her that are more than just basketball. Possibly in good humor, Lith also stated she could be styling fans’ favorite athletes someday. Further, on being asked about her motivation behind preferring law as an option, she mentioned she took one elective law class during her bachelor’s. 

“It was a basic introduction course but I actually loved it. It was hard, I didn’t get an A, I got a B-plus, but I still loved it and realized I want to do this. I want to specialize in contract law, go to law school and try it,” the 22-year-old said. However, she also expressed the possibility of not liking it after giving it a try. And in that case, she’d likely drop it, but not without giving it a try. All-in-all, from an Olympic bronze medalist at 3×3 basketball to an academic star, Hailey Van Lith is a complete package.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger