“This season has the potential to get my joy back for playing the game,” is what Hailey Van Lith said when talking about her offseason move to the New Zealand women’s basketball league, Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa. What was meant to be a fresh start overseas with the Tokomanawa Queens after a disappointing 11-33 season with the Connecticut Sun turned into a brief chapter in Hailey Van Lith’s professional career. Just under a month after debuting in New Zealand, Van Lith’s time outside the States is already over.

“Hailey Van Lith will be “returning home” and will miss the rest of the season, per the Queens,” international women’s basketball scout Christian wrote on X. In the Queens’ latest player status report, Van Lith was marked unavailable due to personal reasons.

Van Lith was the biggest name the New Zealand women’s basketball league landed in its short history. As the ninth most-followed WNBA player on Instagram with 1.3 million followers, Van Lith had the potential to introduce the New Zealand women’s basketball league to a new audience.

Moreover, Van Lith was already feeling “at home” upon arriving in New Zealand’s capital, as she revealed on Wellington’s All Sport Breakfast podcast with Adam Cooper.

“Honestly, it reminds me of home a little bit.” Van Lith said when Cooper asked her feelings on New Zealand’s capital. It gives me Pacific Northwest. I’m from Washington State in the state. So it kind of gives me that coastal, but yet city vibe. And I’m super, I’m just excited to be here,” she added.

With the Queens, Van Lith played only three games, averaging 17 points on 50% from inside the arc, 30% from the three-point line, and 88% from the charity stripe, grabbing six rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Van Lith’s three-game stint in New Zealand mirrors her brief WNBA chapters — each ending within weeks of starting.’

The reason Van Lith talked about wanting her joy back for the game comes after two difficult seasons in the WNBA. Drafted 11th overall by the Chicago Sky in 2025, she played 29 games and averaged 12.4 minutes per game, putting up a modest 3.5 points on average and shooting only 16.1% from the three-point line. Ultimately, head coach Tyler Marsh and the Sky front office chose to waive Van Lith to free up cap space and roster flexibility. According to ESPN, this decision was based on Chicago’s ‘style of play preference,’ and with Van Lith’s exit, the Sky signed ten-year veteran Natasha Cloud. Moreover, Van Lith dealt with frequent left ankle injuries and flare-ups that impacted her availability.

After claiming her off waivers, the Connecticut Sun gave Van Lith another opportunity to shine in the WNBA. After a somewhat promising start with the franchise, Van Lith was again waived, and two days later signed back to a developmental contract. Van Lith subsequently earned another opportunity with the team through a seven-day contract in August before returning to a developmental deal in September. Following this topsy-turvy affair, which included more missed games due to the left ankle contusion and averages of 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game, Van Lith bid farewell to the Sun at the end of the season.

With the context clear, Van Lith’s short stint in New Zealand begs the question: when will the once bright NCAA prospect finally receive a break in her professional career? Another missed opportunity for Van Lith with the Queens was her reunion with the Sun’s Charlisse Leger-Walker, which was also short-lived.

“I didn’t even know I would be playing with Charlisse until we were both randomly like, ‘Wait, you’re on this team? I’m on that team!’” Van Lith said about her former Sun teammate, per Stuff.

With two unsuccessful stints with the Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun and now an early exit from the Tokomanawa Queens, only time will tell where Hailey Van Lith ends up next, as she enters free agency in the offseason.