TCU Professional Athletes

Two TCU alumnae suited up in the WNBA this week, and one of them delivered a performance that turned heads across the league.

Hailey Van Lith, Connecticut Sun

Van Lith saved her best for when it mattered most. In the Sun's 95–81 victory over the Toronto Tempo on Thursday, the former Horned Frog posted 12 points, 8 assists, and 9 rebounds — one board shy of a historic near-triple-double — while logging a dominant +21 plus-minus. It was the kind of all-around effort that defines a player's postseason reputation, with Van Lith impacting every phase of the game rather than relying on any single stat line.

The performance was a sharp rebound from a rough Sunday opener. In Connecticut's 89–101 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on September 20, Van Lith was held to just 2 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds on a -9 plus-minus — a quiet night that made her Thursday showing all the more emphatic. When her team needed answers, she delivered them.

Amy Okonkwo, Portland Fire

Meanwhile, Amy Okonkwo continued to hold her spot on the Portland Fire roster, appearing in both of the team's games this week. Portland fell to the Los Angeles on Sunday, 84–105, before bouncing back with a 90–82 win over Golden State on Wednesday. Detailed stat lines for Okonkwo were not available, but her presence on an active WNBA roster — and in multiple games during a high-stakes stretch of the season — speaks to her standing in the league.

The Bigger Picture

Having two alumni active in the same WNBA week is no accident — it's a signal of the program that TCU has built. Van Lith and Okonkwo represent different trajectories: one a high-usage, high-visibility playmaker on a contender, the other carving out her professional footing on a team finding its identity. Both are doing it under the TCU banner.

For Horned Frog fans tracking the postseason, Van Lith's near-triple-double is the highlight reel moment of the week — but the quiet fact that two of their own were on WNBA floors at the same time is its own kind of milestone.

For Hailey Van Lith, the WNBA offseason already has a destination.

The Connecticut Sun guard has signed with New Zealand's Tokomanawa Queens, securing overseas work once her 2026 WNBA season wraps up. The move, reported by Yahoo Sports, keeps the TCU alumna on the court through the winter and adds an international chapter to a professional career that's moved at a rapid clip since she left Fort Worth.

The timing of the announcement — mid-season — underscores how in-demand Van Lith remains even as her Sun campaign has had its rough patches. On Thursday, September 17, Connecticut fell to Atlanta 59–103, and Van Lith finished with just 2 points and 2 assists in a brutal minus-24 plus/minus. That kind of blowout can distort individual lines, but it's the sort of result that makes an overseas commitment feel like a reset button worth pressing.

Okonkwo Flashes in a Tough Week

While Van Lith's Queens signing dominated the TCU alumni headlines, Amy Okonkwo turned in one of the more quietly impressive individual performances of the week — even in a losing effort.

The forward went for 9 points, 2 rebounds, and a standout 4 steals in Portland's 91–94 loss to Phoenix on Friday, September 18. Four steals in a single game is the kind of defensive output that gets noticed regardless of the final score. Portland dropped that one by three and followed it with another loss to Golden State on Saturday, 66–82, though no stat line was available for Okonkwo in that contest.

The Bigger Picture

TCU has quietly built a meaningful WNBA footprint. Van Lith, Okonkwo, Olivia Miles (Minnesota Lynx), Anneli Maley (New York Liberty), and Marta Suarez (Phoenix Mercury) all have current league affiliations — five alumni across five franchises is a legitimate pipeline, not a coincidence.

Van Lith's Queens deal is the marquee story of the week, both for what it says about her ambition and for what it signals about the growing global market for WNBA-caliber players. The Tokomanawa Queens compete in New Zealand's Tauihi Basketball Wāhine league, and the signing puts Van Lith in the same category of players who treat the calendar year as a full professional schedule rather than a six-month job.

For TCU fans, it's another reminder that the program's investment in women's basketball talent continues to pay dividends at the highest levels — domestically and now internationally.