Molly Miller didn’t just flip Arizona State’s roster—she flipped the entire narrative. Eight transfers, a top-five defense and a 17-2 record have the Sun Devils one win away from erasing a seven-year NCAA-tournament drought.
From 3-15 to the Bubble in 10 Months
When Arizona State introduced Molly Miller last March, the program sat at rock bottom: 11-19 overall, 3-15 in the Big 12 and 2,044 days removed from its last NCAA-tournament appearance. Fast-forward 10 months and the Sun Devils are 17-2, 4-2 in the league and listed as one of the last four teams in the latest bracketology.
The leap is tied to one ruthless off-season rebuild. Miller kept only three scholarship players, mined the portal for eight newcomers and installed a pressing, switching defense that forces 10.7 steals a night—fourth-best in Division I. The result: an 11-0 home record and road wins at Kansas and Texas Tech that already dwarf last season’s conference victory total.
Portal Chemistry in Record Time
Miller’s entire starting five—Gabby Elliott (Penn State), Last-Tear Poa (LSU), McKinna Brakens (UNLV), Heloisa Carrera (Ole Miss) and Marley Washenitz (Pitt)—arrived via transfer, combining for 213 prior Division I starts. Elliott, on her fourth school in six years, is averaging a career-high 16.3 points and has become the late-clock closer.
“She raises the competitiveness in practice because she expects a lot out of herself,” Miller said. “We want the ball in her hands.”
TCU coach Mark Campbell, whose Elite-Eight roster was also portal-built, called Miller’s integration job “phenomenal” after the Frogs edged ASU 69-65 in January. “Getting a team to play together and share the ball is really hard,” Campbell said. “They’re going to continue to be a tough out.”
Defense First, Last, Always
Miller’s trademark at Division-II powerhouse Drury and at Grand Canyon was relentless pressure, and the Sun Devils bought in overnight. ASU is holding opponents to 57.1 points per game—fourth in the Big 12 and 11th nationally—while forcing a steal on 12.4 percent of possessions.
“I’m convicted to that side of the ball,” Miller said. “The way this group has come together and bought into defense has been really special.”
Washenitz, shooting a career-best 37.5 percent from three, credits the scheme for her offensive surge. “To play in a system that loves defense has been awesome. I went into the portal saying, ‘I want to win.’ This is how you do it.”
Bracket Math: What’s Still at Stake
Despite the sparkling record, ASU sits on the cut-line because its NET anchor is dragged down by non-conference games against sub-200 opponents. The upcoming slate gives Miller’s team two golden résumé chances:
- Saturday at No. 22 West Virginia (15-4, 5-2 Big 12)—a quadrant-1 road opportunity.
- February 8 home date vs. No. 2 Oklahoma, projected as a No. 1 seed.
Win one and the Sun Devils likely climb off the bubble; win both and they’re flirting with a top-six seed. Lose both and the margin shrinks to the Big 12 tournament, where a single quarterfinal exit could leave them at the mercy of Selection Sunday.
History within Commuting Distance
Miller’s 15-0 start matched the best in program history and made her the first coach in Power-Six history to open 15-0 in her debut season after inheriting a sub-.500 roster. The turnaround is even more striking given geography: she never changed zip codes, jumping 20 miles from GCU to Tempe.
“It’s unheard of to go up a level and not move homes,” Miller said. “My kids stayed in the same school. Arizona State is exploding in athletics—this is the place to be.”
She’s right. Football just reached the College Football Playoff, volleyball owns back-to-back Big 12 titles, and women’s basketball is now one defensive stop away from its first NCAA appearance since 2019.
Bottom Line
Miller proved at Drury she could win titles; she proved at GCU she could win fast; now she’s proving at Arizona State that the portal plus pressure defense can compress a rebuild from years to months. If the Sun Devils steal a road win in Morgantown, March Madness won’t just be a dream—it’ll be an expectation that resets the standard in Tempe for years to come.
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