Why Olivia Miles turned down the WNBA for a new experience at TCU
Like most basketball experts around the country, Olivia Miles believed last season would be her final one in college before beginning what would hopefully be a lengthy career in the WNBA.
The 5-foot-10 guard from New Jersey garnered nearly every individual accolade at Notre Dame from 2021-25. She was a two-time second-team All-American and three-time first-team All-ACC selection while leading the Fighting Irish to four straight Sweet 16s and multiple conference championships.
Most mock drafts projected Miles to go in the top three in the 2025 WNBA draft, with at least one projecting her as a potential No. 1 overall pick.
But Miles stunned the country by entering the transfer portal and eventually landing at TCU, a few weeks after the Horned Frogs eliminated Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.
Now she has been tabbed as the preseason Big 12 newcomer of the year and is a big reason why TCU is picked to defend its Big 12 title. The Horned Frogs open the season against North Carolina A&T at 4 p.m. Nov. 6 at Schollmaier Arena.
Miles’ journey to Fort Worth is one of patience, self-awareness and the relentless recruiting approach of head coach Mark Campbell.
A different path
After missing all of the 2023-24 season with an ACL tear in her right knee, Miles came back last year and arguably had her best season with the Fighting Irish.
She averaged a career-high 15.4 points and shot a career-high 40.6% from 3 on more than five attempts per game. She led Notre Dame to the regular-season ACC championship and cemented herself as a top WNBA prospect.
Despite the individual and team success she experienced, as the season wore down, Miles began to think of a different path besides going to the WNBA.
“All year it had been draft, draft, draft,” Miles said. “Then I started talking to my agent, my family and my inner circle about different factors and what my options even were. I think it was still the draft until March, where I started thinking more about my knee [injury]. The draft was approaching quickly, and I wanted to be another year removed from it.
“I wanted to gain more confidence in my game. I didn’t feel like I was ready emotionally, mentally or physically to go to the league. I just realized this might not be the best thing for me right now.”
Miles entered the portal two days after losing to TCU. It was the second time the Horned Frogs upset the Fighting Irish last season, and those two games stuck with Miles as she went over her options in the portal.
“They were a hard team to beat,” she said. “They were very tight-knit. Strategically they were very detailed. They were just a tough team to kill, and I think that’s what made them great.”
While Miles was exploring her options, Campbell and the staff quickly identified her as the perfect replacement for guard Hailey Van Lith, last year’s Big 12 player of the year.
After leading TCU to the Elite Eight, it would’ve been easy for Campbell and the staff to be comfortable with a rebuilding year, but Campbell isn’t built like that. He said he had no doubt that TCU could land Miles despite the Horned Frogs still being a new player on the national level.
“Since we’ve been here with all the portal players we’ve signed, we go in there thinking we have a real shot with every one of them,” Campbell said.
Campbell’s confidence is well-earned when you look at the recruiting wins he’s amassed. Along with the high-profile signings of Van Lith and Sedona Prince, there were also the underrated pickups of Madison Conner and Agnes Emma-Nnopu that helped elevate TCU from the worst team in the Big 12 in 2023 to a top-10 team last season.
Campbell believed Miles could be the next signature signee for the program, and his pre-existing relationship with Miles from his time as an assistant at Oregon, plus the system he’s created at TCU, played a vital role in convincing her to choose Fort Worth.
“The very pro-style offense was everything. That’s why I came here,” Miles said. “Space the court, high ball screens, up-tempo and get it out and run. It was something I did a lot at Notre Dame, but here it’s their entire identity. I’ll be able to showcase my full ability and skill set here.”
The Horned Frogs announced the signing of Miles on April 8, sending shock waves across the country.
Programs like TCU typically aren’t able to sign players like Van Lith and Miles in back-to-back classes. That’s something only perennial national powers like South Carolina and UConn have been able to pull off.
Now you can add the Horned Frogs in the mix with those teams when it comes to elite recruiting.
“We’re establishing a brand that we can recruit the best players in the country and that this is a destination for the best players in the country,” Campbell said. “The best players can come here and hoop and get ready for the WNBA. That was a goal from day one.”
Miles the magician
Since her arrival in Fort Worth, Miles has brought the same flair and showmanship on the court that helped make her one of the biggest names in college basketball.
From behind-the-back dribbles to no-look passes, every fast break led by Miles has a chance to be cinema. The best part of her game is that those theatrics usually lead to a great shot for her new teammates, like returning guard Donovyn Hunter.
“I was excited and ecstatic and eager to learn more,” Hunter said of Miles’ signing. “Her vision is insane, but she also wants to get everybody involved. That’s another reason why emphasis this offseason was being more intentional when the ball gets to me and making a play with it.
“Because I know she’s going to get us open in the spots we need to, and it’s on the rest of the team to do something with the passes she gives us.”
Campbell has coached some of the biggest stars to come out of college basketball recently. He watched great players like Van Lith, Conner and Sabrina Ionescu regularly make dazzling plays in practice and games, but even he’s been taken aback by how much fun Miles has been on the court.
“It’s contagious. It sets the tone, and she’s been like that since she’s got here,” Campbell said. “When Olivia Miles is willing to make the extra pass and the right read, it’s easy for everyone else to follow suit. It’s been a show, I get to show up to practice every day and be courtside to watch Olivia do her thing. It’s like a little kid in the candy shop getting to come to work every day.”
As flashy as her on-court game may be, Miles is much more laid-back off the court.
Before she fell in love with basketball, Miles played soccer growing up. When she picked up a basketball, she quickly became a natural. As a fourth-grader she was getting called up to play against middle schoolers. By the time she was in eighth grade, she had picked up her first Division I offer.
She knew then that she had the potential to be special.
“Getting my first offer so young, it was like you can only go up from here,” Miles said. “It just gave me so much confidence and hope and knowledge that I could do it at this level.”
But where does the showmanship of her game come from? Watching Miles is like watching a point guard combine the creativity you might see at Rucker Park in New York with the cerebral approach you’ll see from some of the best point guards in the WNBA.
Miles said there’s no one player she modeled her game after. Like most things she has excelled at in her life, it just came naturally to her.
“My game is pretty unique. It has a lot of different elements and a lot to appreciate,” Miles said. “I watch a lot of film, but I also just try stuff that people don’t like to do in the game. I just try to be creative and have fun with the game. At the end of the day, that’s why we play it.”
Olivia Miles the person
When she’s not wowing her teammates or Campbell on the court, Miles is often at home relaxing and playing video games with her cat, Bean.
“He’s literally my lifesaver,” Miles said. “He waits for me at the door. I bring him here with me [to TCU] sometimes, but living alone sometimes is hard. I like it, but it’s fun to have a companion that gets through your journey with you. He doesn’t care if I score 40 points or have 10 turnovers, he’s the same way. I just love having him.”
Campbell was already excited to land Miles the player, but getting to know her on a personal level has been just as big of a joy.
“It’s one of the things I love about the portal is getting to know each player and who they are,” Campbell said. “I went to Chile to support Olivia [at FIBA AmeriCup], and now we’re walking through this journey together. She’s a hoops junkie. She has a brilliant basketball mind. It’s been fun to watch film and talk hoops and pick her brain. She’s a brilliant kid that loves learning.”
TCU didn’t just land a potential top-three pick in the 2026 WNBA draft that could lead them back to the Elite Eight. The Horned Frogs also landed the type of person who could be the face of a program and maybe women’s college basketball this season.
