Hailey Van Lith has always been confident on the court, but this May, she’s proving she can shine just as brightly under the camera lights.
The Chicago Sky rookie is turning heads for more than just her smooth handles and step-back jumpers. Days away from her WNBA debut, Van Lith is making waves in the fashion world with her latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit appearance- and fans are here for it.
Before lacing up for the Sky’s season opener against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on May 17, Van Lith posed in a bold blue and white striped swimsuit for SI’s 2025 issue. The magazine teased the look with a sneak peek on Instagram, sending social media into a frenzy.
“Her digital cover was just the beginning,” SI Swimsuit wrote in the caption, signaling that Van Lith is far from done making an impact.
Balancing Bold Moves On And Off The Court
Van Lith’s journey to this point hasn’t been short on highlights. After transferring to TCU and claiming Big 12 Player of the Year honors, the sharp-shooting guard heard her name called as the 11th overall pick by the Chicago Sky in April’s WNBA Draft. Just weeks before that, she broke into the fashion industry as the digital cover star for SI Swimsuit, with a photo shoot based in Fort Worth, Texas.
Despite her confident presence on the court, Van Lith admitted that stepping into a swimsuit shoot brought a whole new kind of challenge.
“My initial reaction was, I was intimidated,” she told SI. “I didn’t know if I would be comfortable in that kind of setting, but I wanted to try something that I had never tried.”
She embraced the moment and will appear in the magazine’s full 2025 print edition later this month. SI Swimsuit’s latest rollout places Van Lith in a growing list of athletes crossing into mainstream culture, joining fellow WNBA rookie Cameron Brink of the Los Angeles Sparks and other standout collegiate stars like UCF sprinter Rayniah Jones and Colorado soccer’s Phoenix Dawn Miranda.
On May 6, under the bright lights of Wintrust Arena, cameras locked in on Hailey Van Lith as she warmed up for a preseason clash against the Minnesota Lynx. Every move spoke volumes. The rookie guard wasn’t just preparing for a game, she was stepping into her next era with undeniable swagger.
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