TEMPE – A year ago, Molly Miller was tasked with rebuilding the Arizona State women’s basketball program and returning it to national relevance.
After exceeding expectations in 2025-26 when the Sun Devils won their first 15 games and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, the floor has been raised entering Miller’s second season.
Miller led the Sun Devils to a 24-11 overall mark, including a 9-9 record in the Big 12 last season, laying the foundation for winning in the desert. She then helped bring in a top-five transfer portal class to join a talented core of returning players.
Expectations have shifted from rebuilding to sustaining success for ASU, which tips off the season Nov. 2 against Jackson State at Desert Financial Arena.
Miller acknowledged that pressure comes with heightened expectations, but she believes the people within the program will help reduce the stress.
“No one’s going to put more pressure on you than yourself,” Miller said. “We’re all competitors. We want to win and probably have a little bit of perfectionism in us, so we’re going to do everything we can to make that happen. If you can go through this with a family like I have, then it’s less stressful.”
One way to ease stress is to have complete faith in the supporting cast. Miller views her coaching staff as an extension of herself. They even understand her lingo, or as some call it, “Mollyisms.”
“I do not have assistant coaches; I have head coaches that assist,” Miller said. “I say that all the time, but the fact that we know each other’s lingo now is really helpful.”
Stephanie Norman, a four-year letter-winner at ASU in the 1980s, joined Miller’s staff in 2025, returning to her alma mater after spending 18 years on Louisville’s coaching staff. Norman told Miller she believed she had two responsibilities.
The first is to protect Miller because Norman understands how pressurized this business can be. The second is to elevate her because, as an alumnus, she knows the importance of fielding a competitive program.
Norman praised Miller for her coaching philosophy and willingness to put herself last.
“What motivates people to want to work for her so bad is because she’s always inherently trying to put ‘we’ before ‘me,’ and we all want to do well to elevate her,” Norman said.
That belief extends beyond the coaching staff, as the motivation to do the right thing shows in how the players approach each day.
With many new faces joining the roster from the transfer portal as well as incoming freshmen, Miller has leaned on the returners during practice to reinforce the cultural foundation built in year one.
“They’ll finish my sentences,” Miller said. “They know what to do, so they’re on the sidelines coaching (the new players) up.”
One of those returners is McKinna Brackens, who joined Miller in her inaugural season with the Sun Devils.
Brackens experienced firsthand the culture and competitiveness Miller instilled in the team. She understands the standard, and she praises Miller for her ability to bring out the best in every player.
“She’s going to ask for the most out of you every day, and she gets so passionate about it that it makes you want to play hard,” Brackens said. “I feel like that goes into our culture. She expects greatness, and she’s going to pull that out of you, and I want her to pull that out of me. I wouldn’t want her to settle for less.”
The Sun Devils are credited with the No. 4 transfer portal class in the nation. Miller believes the ASU’s uniqueness has become a factor in athletes wanting to wear maroon and gold.
“We’re becoming a school of choice, and that’s fun,” Miller said. “I think it has a lot to do with who we are as a program.”
Miller said becoming a school of choice is a significant benefit to help take the team to the next level. As a result, she can be picky about the team’s needs and the type of characters she and her staff recruit to the program.
Ruby Whitehorn, who transferred from Tennessee, can already see how excited Miller is for this team. By talking with the coaching staff and returning players, Whitehorn understands the team’s expectations and standards.
Whitehorn hopes to advance the team’s culture through the way she approaches the game. While filling up the box score looks good on paper, that is secondary to Whitehorn’s philosophy.
“It’s not about scoring, passing or rebounding for me,” Whitehorn said. “It’s about being able to bring my heart. Being able to bring a dog mentality so that we know that whoever we play against, we need to compete.”
Miller expects that competitive spirit from her players every day. In her eyes, there is a difference between setting standards and setting goals.
“If you set goals, then you’re not obsessed with what happens daily,” Miller said. “You’re just kind of writing it down, looking ahead, maybe hoping some of them come true.”
While Miller might not be the biggest fan of setting goals, some players on the team have their own goals and expectations. After last season’s success, Brackens expects the team to be on a hunt for its First Four appearance.
“I feel like we can compete for a Big 12 championship, both regular season and in the tournament,” Brackens said. “I want to make the NCAA Tournament and make it to at least the Sweet 16. I don’t just want to make it (to the tournament); we want to compete and win some games.”
As year two of the Miller era kicks off in Tempe, Norman believes the Sun Devils have all the makings of a team that will connect with existing fans and attract new ones.
“We’re just getting started, and to me that’s super fun because I think fans and the general public want that type of story of ‘Oh, I’ve never seen that team before. Let’s get on their bandwagon,’” Norman said.
“So we would like to whet that appetite a little bit more.”
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