In the midst of global chaos, Grand Canyon University made a tremendous hire that might have been overshadowed by the events of 2020. GCU President Brian Mueller and Athletic Director Jamie Boggs tapped former Drury University head coach Molly Miller to take over the GCU women’s basketball program on April 7, 2020.

If you haven’t heard about GCU’s new women’s basketball coach yet, then here is a summary of her resume. She grew up in Springfield, Missouri, as Molly Carter and played at Kickapoo High School and Drury University in her hometown. Her combined high school and college record as a player was 221-27. During her playing days at Drury, she was named third-team All-American in 2008 and finished top-3 in program history for points, assists and steals.

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She took over as head coach at her alma mater in 2014 and led the program to historic heights – amassing a 180-17 record over six seasons. Her .914 winning percentage at Drury was the top mark among active NCAA basketball coaches, regardless of gender or division. During her final two seasons at Drury, her team went 67-1 – including a perfect 32-0 season prior to the cancellation of the 2019-20 NCAA Tournament.

Now that you have a little background on Coach Miller, it’s time to get to know the person behind all that success.

For the first time ever, her basketball career has taken her outside of Springfield, as she embarks on a new journey as head coach of the GCU Antelopes. Miller is joined in Phoenix by her husband, Derek, and their two children, Crosby and Cy.

On the court, Coach Miller is all about pressure defense. Her teams were top-5 in the nation in five different defensive statistical categories. And at Drury, her teams led the nation in scoring margin her final two seasons, winning by 27.9 and 28.5 points per game, respectively. This exciting style of basketball led Drury to the third-highest average attendance (1,768) in Division II during her final season, despite only having 1,500 undergraduate students on campus and competing with crosstown rivals Missouri State. Her ability to draw crowds and excite fans certainly bodes well for her at GCU, considering it has one of the most celebrated student sections in all of college basketball.

Off the court, Miller preaches about the importance of culture and comradery. Both Mueller and Boggs raved about Miller’s character and leadership upon hiring her last year, and it already shows during her short time here in the Valley. She was able to overcome adversity and utilize modern technology and other unorthodox recruiting techniques to help sell the dream of GCU women’s basketball during her first offseason in Division I. The determination of her and her coaching staff directly resulted in their ability to sign an exciting freshmen class, as well as a few notable transfers, site unseen.

There’s no doubt that Coach Miller is bringing a ton of excitement to the GCU athletic program, so if you haven’t been paying attention to Antelopes basketball, it might be time to jump on the bandwagon.