3 factors that could characterize Arizona State women’s basketball early in 2025-26 – It’s a clean slate for the Arizona State women’s basketball team with new head coach Molly Miller. Only four players from last season’s team returned, and just two of them started, which leaves many unanswered about what ASU will look like this season. That could be a good thing for an ASU team that has underperformed over the last few years and hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2019. And with an energetic coach in Miller, who transformed Grand Canyon into a tournament team in five years, there’s some excitement for the program. 
“What’s neat about this group is they all came in with a clean slate. It’s not like there’s been established starters or established minutes,” Miller said. “They all really come in and compete because they have something to prove. Whether it’s a chip on their shoulder from the portal, never playing here, or returners coming and wanting to start a new chapter. That’s been a really cool dynamic. The competition is leveled because there’s no predetermined expectations.” With nearly everyone new in Tempe, what will the Sun Devils look like in 2025-26? How can ASU make a step in the second season in the Big 12?
Adding experienced voices
Miller sought out experienced players in the portal with the intention of having a voice in the locker room when she’s not there. She added fifth-year guard Gabby Elliott from Penn State, fifth-year guard Last-Tear Poa from LSU and senior guard Marley Washenitz from Pittsburgh. Elliott and Washenitz bring in starting experience, while Elliott is a “proven Power Four player.” “You know she’s going to come in and contribute,” Miller said. “She averaged double-digit scoring last year, so she’s going to be a big piece to our success.”
Poa has played for a national championship and won with LSU in 2023, when she hit a pair of 3-pointers. She has taken Miller’s lead and used her resources to reward the team with an ice cream truck following one of their practices. “When you have Gabby, Marley and Last-Tear, some of those upperclassmen that have had success at this level, you want to lean on them,” Miller said. “You also want them to share their stories because they’ve got a point to prove. They wanted a different experience for whatever reason, so now they’re here and they’ve got some experience. They know how to win, they’re competitors and we’re wired the same.”
A rising star
For Miller, some of her best recruiters aren’t on her staff, but her former players. Former GCU guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas played at UNLV for two seasons before being drawn to Miller’s team after facing the Lopes in several scrimmages. Durazo-Frescas’ story and the scrimmages against Miller’s strong defensive teams inspired forward McKinna Brackens when she was in the portal this offseason. “I had already known the style of play that she had, and I was like, ‘Oh, that looks hard and fun.’ The first impression was I wanted to play for her,” Brackens said. 3 factors that could characterize Arizona State women’s basketball early in 2025-26
Brackens started in all 34 games at UNLV as a sophomore and was third on the team with 12 blocks. With her third season coming up, Miller is excited for Brackens’ potential and her fit in the defense-first system. “I got to see her grow from an underclassman to a junior and she’s a great human being,” Miller said. “Alyssa came to us, and me and Alyssa were (super close). Sometimes your best recruiters are the players that played for you. They’re speaking an honest truth about what their experience is like, and that’s a good sounding board for her to say what it’s like to play for me. I could tell her what it’s like, but to hear a player actually say it, that was powerful for her.”
Defensive expectations
Miller is full of joy while talking about her team, but when she’s on the floor with her team in practice, she’s pushing them to be their best. Known for her spitfire energy while she was a guard, Miller expects the same from her teams. Her GCU team had the best scoring defense in the Western Athletic Conference, allowing 57.20 points per game. ASU struggled in its first year in the Big 12 and allowed the most points with 76.9 points per game. 3 factors that could characterize Arizona State women’s basketball early in 2025-26
So far, Miller said she’s never had to question the efforts as she’s been conditioning them to her style of play. “We’re going to run hard, we’re going to play fast, and we’re going to get after it on defense,” Brackens said. “That’s very important for Coach Miller, and it’s becoming very important to us. We want to defend, we don’t want to get scored on, and we want the ball. I think that’s what you’re going to expect.”
Building a strong defense depends on team chemistry and bonding. Miller and several players have created experiences to get to know each other, including visiting Brackens’ ranch in Texas. Miller has hosted several events at her house, along with bringing food trucks to her house and outside of the practice facility. “She’s just so happy all the time and the way she motivates you,” Brackens said. “She gets so excited when you do it right, so you want her to get excited for you and you want to get excited for each other when you do something right… She just motivates you to do the little things because she gets excited for the little things. It makes you want to work harder for her.” 3 factors that could characterize Arizona State women’s basketball early in 2025-26
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