STATE COLLEGE — A lot of stock has been put into Kiyomi McMiller as she begins her tenure for Penn State women’s basketball.
The sophomore transfer from Rutgers has been one of the faces of the program since her arrival in Happy Valley, and for good reason. She was an 18-PPG scorer in the Big Ten as a true freshman, and head coach Carolyn Kieger believes in her enough that McMiller represented the program at Big Ten media days.
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It won’t be solely on McMiller’s shoulders to lead the Lady Lions to victory, but the All-Big Ten honorable mention guard is in State College to be a cornerstone of a team that only won one conference game last season.
Question is: can she help lead Penn State to success on the court?
Rutgers’ Kiyomi McMiller pulls up and shoots. Rutgers Women’s Basketball falls to Nebraska 69-62 in Piscataway, NJ on January 12, 2025.
Kieger is confident she can, saying as much during Penn State’s local media day inside the Bryce Jordan Center. She spoke very highly of McMiller’s skills and work ethic, especially how the latter is setting the tone for the rest of the team.
More: Mike Rhoades plans to lead majority-freshmen Penn State basketball roster in 2025-26
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“Kiyomi is a three-level scorer. She’s got the best handle I’ve seen. But what I don’t believe people talk about enough is her vision. She sees the court really well. She’s a willing passer,” Kieger said. “She’s got an elite work ethic. The first day in practice, I saw the level of intensity and competitiveness increase just by her presence alone.”
Kieger added that McMiller “wants to step into more of a leadership role to show the team what it takes to win.” The young guard will have her chance to do so, but she won’t have to carry the load by herself.
Moriah Murray hopes to be a bigger offensive threat for the 2025-26 season for Penn State.
Gracie Merkle returns for her redshirt junior season after leading Penn State in points (15.5), rebounds (8.6) and field-goal percentage (67%), while Moriah Murray enters the season as one of the top perimeter threats after finishing in the top-10 in 3-point shooting last year.
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McMiller made sure to highlight her teammates, and coaches, when asked about why she’s confident about being one of the cornerstones for the Lady Lions.
“I know coach Kiegs has all our backs,” McMiller said. “By her intstilling all of the confidence, it makes me believe I can accomplish all of the goals I want to accomplish. And just knowing I have Moriah and Gracie, the best shooter and post player in the country, it means a lot. It’s going to be really hard to stop us this year.”
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State WBB’s success depends a lot on transfer Kiyomi McMiller
