ASU women’s basketball trending into location for top recruits

After Arizona State made the NCAA Tournament in 2026, second-year coach Molly Miller deemed it the floor of the program’s trajectory.  

And to get to the next stages, she believes she has a program that will attract the right players. 

“We’ll always have that first group who started us out on the right foot and I’m so thankful to them, but they’ve allowed us to recruit with a different mindset,” Miller said.  

To build the program, Miller emphasized the importance of maintaining players on her current roster and gaining resources from the administration and the community.  

Miller’s freshmen class for the 2026-27 season includes a quick guard in Quin’Nya Gray De Sanders, a sharp shooter in Averie Lower and a combo guard in Londyn Parker.  

“We’ve become a school of choice, so we can become picky with our needs,” Miller said. We can be picky with the type of character kids we bring in here. I have a responsibility to that team — because they’re such good kids, and they’re well-rounded — to bring in good apples. That’s my priority, to bring in good human beings and complement what we’re lacking in terms of a basketball skill set.” 

Miller’s family-oriented recruiting style hasn’t changed since her Drury and Grand Canyon days, but her resources have elevated her name among recruits.  

“The caliber of recruit that we’re able to get on the phone here at the Power 4 level and being in the Big 12, that’s awesome,” Miller said. “That’s awesome that we’re able to pick up the phone and whoever we like in the country, it doesn’t matter which ranking, we can be in the conversation.”  

What Miller accomplished in her first year has spread to high school players, including some of the top talent in the country, like top-ranked recruit Kaleena Smith.  

ASU cracked Smith’s list of 11 schools, and Smith will make an official visit to Tempe on Friday, Oct. 9. 

Miller couldn’t comment on the specifics of Smith’s visit, but was excited that ASU “got top kids in the country answering the phone and wanting to hear what we’re about.” 

“It speaks volumes to not only the program, but what this university is about, what this community is about and going to get the greatest out there,” Miller said. “We can achieve those goals and make it to the national stage.”

ASU returns five players, including forward McKinna Brackens, from the 2026 NCAA Tournament team that went 24-11. Brackens was second in scoring with 14.4 points and first in rebounding with 6.4 rebounds. ASU also returns forward Heloisa Carrera, who finished second in rebounding (5.3).  

ASU brought in eight newcomers for the upcoming season, including five transfers. The transfer class was ranked in the top-five by USA TODAY and added significant guard depth with Tennessee guard Ruby Whitehorn, Michigan State guard Rashunda “Spider” Jones and Central Michigan guard Madi Morson.  

Whitehorn was a top player for Tennessee in the 2024-25 season, while Jones has been an All-Big Ten defender. Morson was last season’s MAC Player of the Year as a sophomore. 

The Sun Devils open the season at home with Jackson State on Nov. 2 and then will host Northern Arizona on Nov. 5. 

Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X. 

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU women’s basketball trending into location for top recruits