Molly Miller has only been the head coach for Sun Devil women's basketball for four months, but she's already making waves on the recruiting trail. After hitting the transfer portal hard to rebuild a roster that lost almost all of its players from last year, Miller now has Arizona State in contention for an elite high school prospect.
Natalya Hodges, currently ranked as the 55th best player in the nation by 247 Sports, recently scheduled visits with four programs. She'll check out Florida State, Baylor, Arizona, and Arizona State, the first four official visits of her recruitment.
Hodge has said publicly that she plans to take more visits and whittle down her top 10 list of schools near the end of July, so we're still early in the process. Still, the fact that the Sun Devils make up one of her first visits seems meaningful.
The last few months have seen Hodge's stock soar thanks to a strong showing in Nike EYBL play, where she's averaging just over 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists a game. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Tennessee native ends up with offers from every major program in college basktball between now and when she actually commits.
That makes the path to a recruiting win harder for Miller and Arizona State, but not impossible. Miller was known for her recruiting acumen at Grand Canyon, and newly hired assistant Daniel Barber - listed on the team site as the recruiting coordinator - has been cited as a rising star in the recruitng world with previous stops at Clemson and Penn State.
Landing someone like Hodge would be a massive early win for the Miller regime, but even the fact that they're in the fight seems like an encouraging first sign for Sun Devil women's basketball.