Hailey Van Lith doesn’t taking trash talk personally. Rather, she appreciates it, especially as one of the perfectors of the art form.

And she would like to see that appreciation from a wider audience, pointing out the difference in standards for women’s basketball stars compared to, say, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, who earlier in the NBA playoffs declared himself the best player in the world.

“When a woman does it don’t come at us sideways,” Van Lith told Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks.

A three-year star at Louisville, the 21-year-old is joining national champion LSU for the upcoming season. She helped the U.S. women’s team to the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup title earlier this month. And she counts her trash-talking among her many on-court talents.

“I think it’s one of my strong skill sets,” she joked with  Rooks. “If you’re going to list pros and cons, the No. 1 pro of Hailey Van Lith is trash-talking.”

For Van Lith, though, the conversation around trash-talking runs deeper. She pointed to her new teammate Angel Reese as a “great vehicle” for bringing energy to the women’s game, saying that she “can’t wait to support her and back her.” She even awards Reese the “trash-talking crown” for LSU, pointing to her bravado and her bravery.

“I think the game is going to change when women feel comfortable in their sport, in their arena to actually say how they feel about themselves and not always feel like, ‘Oh being confident is unladylike. Talking trash is unladylike,’” she said. “No. All these things are a part of sports, and it’s what people love about sports.”

For Van Lith, the best trash talk doesn’t have to be loud.

“I feel like it’s much more intimidating, if I can just look you dead in your eye and tell you that I just gave you a bucket without screaming, you’re going to take that personally,” she said. “That’s my strength.”

Van Lith isn’t afraid to talk the talk on the court because she’s truly confident in her game, she said. And she’s excited to see players’ confidence grow as the game grows.

“There’s room for everyone at the table, and I just feel like now that we’re in a place where young girls in college — it’s like there’s always been the older WNBA players who have kind of pushed the boundaries, but now there’s this avenue for these young college players to really express themselves and and show self-confidence,” she said. “I think we’re going to see another level of reach in women’s basketball and women’s sports in general as this comes to life.”

Part of that level of reach has come as stars such as Reese and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark have come onto the scene. After LSU won national championship, she contacted Reese right away “because I just loved her energy,” she said. The two remained in contact after that, which is part of what led Van Lith to the Tigers.

“She just seems like the type of girl that wants other people around her to do well and see them win and that’s what I respect and love about her,” Van Lith said.

The former Louisville star’s commitment to LSU was followed by Aneesah Morrow, another star transfer, which has fueled chatter about the Tigers’ chances to win back-to-back titles. The team will also have to balance playing styles and personalities, but Van Lith isn’t worried.

“When you have the same goals – and that’s to be the best that we can be as a team – that’s not going to matter,” she said. “I’m with a bunch of girls that have that same goal and I don’t think we’re going to have issues on that front because we all just want to see the team do well.”

The vibes would work well for a reality television show following LSU as it navigates the NCAA season, she said.

“But I also see a little bit of a glimpse of a mini pro team. We have so many WNBA prospects and I really am excited because I think it’s going to give me a taste of what the league is like and playing on a team with such great players around me,” she said. “I’m very confident in what I bring to the table but also I think it’s going to help me, it’s gonna make me so much better for the next stage of my life which is the WNBA.”

As for a possible rematch with Clark and the Hawkeyes, Van Lith isn’t fazed by their most recent meeting, even after Clark made John Cena’s famous “you can’t see me” gesture in her team’s Elite Eight win against Louisville.

“It was actually hilarious because right after the game I texted her and I was like, ‘The media is dumb. I’m sorry. They just make stuff up and they just put it all over the Internet and everyone thinks it’s true,’” she said of the incident. “We were laughing about it because she did it to her strength coach. She didn’t do it to anyone on our team, especially me.

“I didn’t even see it in the game,” Van Lith continued. “It’s just funny how camera angles and perceptions are skewed through the media. It was hilarious, we laughed about it. I didn’t even know it happened until I saw it [all] over Instagram later.”

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

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Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

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Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.