Jordan Hamm
The Section 7 basketball tournament brings some of the best players in the country to Arizona this summer, and the girls tournament last weekend did not disappoint.
That group featured multiple players being recruited by Arizona State. Molly Miller’s crew has wasted no time trying to build up the future of the program with notable offers.
I caught up with a few of them to learn about the Sun Devils’ recruiting approach:
Aaliah Spaight – 2026 Guard – Bishop Gorman (NV)
Spaight’s performance in a Friday game was the most impressive I saw all weekend. She scored 35 points, was a presence in the rebounding department, distributed the ball well and forced multiple turnovers.
She attacked the basket and could play through contact to still get a shot up, resulting in multiple and-1 scores.
Spaight was in Tempe on an unofficial visit with Natasha Adair’s staff, and she was offered by Miller’s staff about six weeks ago.
She said the ASU staff has been a constant presence since extending an offer, and Ole Miss and Virginia Tech are also making a big recruiting push.
Amalia Holguin – 2026 Guard – Sage Hill (CA)
Holguin played really great defense throughout the game I watched her. She also pushed the tempo with some transition assists that resulted in easy buckets for her teammates. She is a major threat from hitting shots from the outside.
Holguin brings a high IQ to the court and has used lessons learned from a young age. She is the last remaining high school player who was a part of Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Academy.
“When I was in fourth grade, I didn’t know what he was talking about usually,” Holguin said. “I was just trying to run through it because all the girls were older than me. But now that I look at it, we were running stuff that I use now back then.”
She went on an unofficial visit to Arizona State prior to the tournament. She noted the high temperatures on campus and high intensity during practice.
She is also friends with ASU freshman guard Amaya Williams, who committed to Miller while at GCU and followed her head coach to Tempe.
She said Louisville has also been a steady presence in her recruitment. ASU associate head coach Stephanie Norman just came from the Cardinals’ program.
Lily McCracken – 2027 Guard – Notre Dame Prep (AZ)
Molly Miller was McCracken’s first offer at GCU. It didn’t take long for the Sun Devil offer to come when Miller moved to Tempe. McCracken led the Saints in scoring (19.8 ppg) and rebounds (6.9) as a sophomore and can hit shots from the outside and navigate through traffic in the paint.
She said receiving her first ever offer from Miller showed her hard work was paying off. It also motivated her to work harder. She has enjoyed watching her relationship with the staffs at GCU and ASU evolve over the past year or so.
In addition to the Sun Devils, McCracken said offers from the likes of Harvard, Creighton and Marquette were offers that stood out to her, “but really every offer is a blessing.”
These were just a few of the standouts that ASU is recruiting, and multiple coaches were taking in the tournament as they look to build up their upcoming classes.
