The Chicago Sky have waived Hailey Van Lith, the team announced on Monday afternoon. Van Lith was selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. She was not in the rotation in her rookie season, but appeared in 29 games, averaging 3.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists.
Chicago Sky waive Hailey Van Lith
Hailey Van Lith’s time in Chicago has come to a sudden end despite a strong preseason.
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
This past winter, she was a developmental player with Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league in Miami co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.
Van Lith appeared in both of the Sky’s preseason games and seemed to have taken a significant step forward. She scored 20 points in the preseason opener, going a perfect 8 for 8 from the field.
In those two games, she averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 71.4% from the floor.
What to make of the Chicago Sky roster
The Sky have several veteran guards on the roster, headlined by Skylar Diggins, who is a seven-time All-Star and fresh off a strong season with the Seattle Storm. Courtney Vandersloot is currently sidelined as she continues to recover from an ACL tear, as is DiJonai Carrington, who is dealing with a foot injury.
Jacy Sheldon (acquired via trade this offseason) and Gabriela Jaquez (drafted fifth overall last month) round out the roster.
Still, after a strong preseason debut, it appeared likely that Van Lith had done enough to make the final roster. Now, it’s been revealed that that’s no longer the case.
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