Grand Canyon’s Molly Miller will be the next head coach at Arizona State after guiding the Lopes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Grand Canyon’s Molly Miller will be the next head coach of Arizona State’s women’s basketball program, multiple sources familiar with the situation told SB Nation.
Miller, 38, just led Grand Canyon to its best season as a Division I team, guiding the Lopes to a program-record 32 wins and their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. She was there for five seasons, going 117-37, winning 76 percent of her games. Grand Canyon fell on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, losing 73-60 to Baylor. Miller was named WAC Coach of the Year this season.
Before taking the reins at Grand Canyon, Miller was 180-17 during her time as a Division II head coach at her alma mater, Drury University in Missouri.
Initially, Miller was seen as the frontrunner to land the Arkansas job. According to multiple sources within the sport, Razorbacks athletic director Hunter Yurachek met with Miller before the program parted ways with former coach Mike Neighbors. Miller grew up in Springfield, Missouri, just two hours from Arkansas’ campus.
But that meeting with Yurachek happened before Arizona State fired Natasha Adair. Grand Canyon is just 15 miles away from ASU. Theoretically, Miller wouldn’t even have to move to make the jump from the WAC to the Power 4.
Grand Canyon’s Molly Miller is essentially choosing between Arkansas and Arizona State, per multiple sources. She’s at the top of the list for both programs. #ncaaW
— Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch) March 13, 2025
Arkansas then pivoted its search and gauged the interest of other candidates, including UTSA coach Karen Aston who previously took Texas to six NCAA Tournaments in eight years. Ultimately, the Razorbacks settled on hiring Kelsi Musick from Oral Roberts, announcing on Friday they agreed to a five-year deal with her with a total compensation of $600,000 per year. Musick went 57-39 in three seasons at ORU, but led the team to its most wins this season, 24, since 1983.
Miller’s Grand Canyon beat Arizona State earlier this season, 70-59. She now inherits a Sun Devils team that hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2020.
Meanwhile, other Power 4 openings remain at Houston, BYU, Auburn and Wisconsin.
