Kiyomi McMiller found herself positioned across from greatness.
On a balmy summer evening in New York City, McMiller stood on the rooftop of Pier 17, in attendance for a one-on-one basketball competition hosted by the Jordan Brand.
A few months prior, McMiller had announced that she would play her sophomore year of college basketball at Penn State, following a frenzied freshman 2024-25 campaign at Rutgers in which she wowed audiences amid a season that derailed before its completion.
In New York, McMiller had just introduced herself to retired WNBA superstar Maya Moore, who a week later would be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
With basketball royalty before her, McMiller used the opportunity to see how she measured up against a talent often considered the greatest of all time.
“It gave me a chance to look at her, compare height. In my head, it’s always a competition,” said McMiller, a 5-foot-8 guard who in 2023 became the first high school athlete to sign an NIL deal with Jordan Brand. “It was definitely kind of an encouragement. I’m trying to be where you’re at right now, be considered the greatest of all time.”
Moore had watched McMiller play, which brought joy to the aspiring McMiller. Moore wasn’t alone, as McMiller’s showtime talent and flashy style of play captivated audiences across the country. Moore closed by telling McMiller she was excited to see her suit up for the Nittany Lions.
“Just someone else to put on a show for,” McMiller said.
In a short period, McMiller has become a bit of a polarizing presence in college basketball. She’s an unquestionably skilled guard, with the confidence to boot, but her in-season benching and eventual departure from Rutgers raised questions about her interest in being a coachable team player.
With the 2025-26 season now underway, McMiller hopes to convert those non-believers while playing for a program that she, and those around her, see as a better fit.
“That’s one of the things I really want to show this year,” she said. “My real personality and who I really am.”
McMiller has always had a flair for on-court dramatics.
She remembers one of the first times she made audiences gasp from her play. She was in middle school, hooping in a small gym where fans were practically on top of the players. McMiller, standing at the top of the key, did a move that caused her defender to trip and fall.
“I went up for the shot, everyone gasped, and I made it,” she said. “It just all felt so slow and perfect.”
McMiller gets her showtime sweet tooth from where she grew up learning to play basketball – her hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland. It’s the birthplace of a handful of basketball talents, most notably Steve Francis and Josh Hart.
“We just have a different style and swagger to ourselves – to our game as well,” McMiller said.
Whenever McMiller takes the court, she wants you to have your popcorn ready. McMiller takes pride in entertaining audiences, using her crafty dribble package that seems straight out of an And-1 mixtape to evoke oohs and ahs from fans in the stands. The court is her stage.
McMiller calls herself “The Product,” a nickname her dad gave her as she was coming up. “I can give you whatever you need,” she’ll often say when explaining its origin. McMiller also is trying to become a product off the floor, as she tries to build a brand in this budding era of name, image and likeness.
It’s in part why McMiller’s father, Mike, enlisted the help of former Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe. Mike McMiller had been impressed with Ellerbe’s history in the sport of boxing, where he managed and directed the careers of fighters such as Gervonta Davis and Floyd Mayweather.
“He saw how I transformed them into their own business, you know, changed the culture of how people went about generating revenue,” Ellerbe said.
Ellerbe, who joined McMiller’s team in early 2024 as an adviser, had not previously worked in women’s basketball but was impressed by McMiller.
“Business is business,” Ellerbe said. “He was thinking outside the box, he had a vision, and the timing was right. … [Kiyomi is] the most exciting basketball player that’s out there.”
McMiller has never lacked confidence. Penn State head coach Carolyn Kieger calls confidence a skill, adding that McMiller plays with so much of it. It’s not a trait that readily exudes from McMiller, who is a more introverted presence. When it’s time to discuss her ability on the court, though, it quickly materializes.
When asked if she thinks that she is the best player in the Class of 2028, McMiller answered affirmatively.
“I believe that I’m the most skilled,” she said.
After a moment, McMiller, unprompted, opted to take it a step further.
“I’m the most skilled player in college basketball,” she said.
Through the first 14 games of the 2024-25 season, McMiller was averaging 19.9 points per game for the Scarlet Knights, drawing buzz as one of the brightest newcomers of the season. On Jan. 5, though, McMiller was benched ahead of a highly anticipated game against USC. She announced her playing status via social media, attributing the decision to Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington. McMiller would later repost a story from another user on Instagram calling on her to transfer.
After missing a second straight game against Minnesota on Jan. 8, McMiller returned to Rutgers’ lineup on Jan. 12 and scored 33 points in a loss to Nebraska.
McMiller missed the final 10 games of Rutgers’ season, which included a run in the WNIT. News of McMiller’s decision to enter the transfer portal broke on the same day the Scarlet Knights played in the third round of the WNIT.
“Kiyomi and I met not too long ago, and we talked about the goals that we have for this program, her individual goals, and all that. It was very clear during that conversation that the best thing for both sides is that we kind of make a change in direction,” Washington said postgame on March 28.
McMiller said she doesn’t have regrets regarding her season with Rutgers. To her, there’s a belief that everything that happened during her freshman season occurred for a reason.
“I wouldn’t really change anything about my freshman year,” she said. “Maybe it happened so I could end up here [at Penn State].”
Amid the tumult that came with McMiller’s freshman season also came those who were critical of the 19-year-old’s camp. Some questioned the decision-making behind the scenes of how McMiller ultimately handled the events surrounding her departure. When asked about his reaction to critics of McMiller’s camp, of which he is a part, Ellerbe replied, “All bull—.”
“It was a situation [where] we were doomed from the beginning. It wasn’t a good fit,” Ellerbe said. “I’m just glad she’s out of that situation. There’s no hard feelings with anyone there. I’m just glad she’s in a different situation and she has a coach who really believes in her.”
McMiller joins a Penn State program that won just one conference game a season ago. The last time the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten regular season was in 2013-14. The coach of that team was Washington, who coached Penn State from 2007-19.
Ellerbe said he spoke to 30 schools while representing McMiller during the transfer portal process.
“We made the decision, me and her parents, to go with Penn State,” Ellerbe said. “It was the best opportunity and a tremendous platform for her to come in and change the culture to a winning culture.”
Kieger said during McMiller’s portal recruitment process, as with any recruit, her staff did a deep dive on McMiller to assess her fit “culturally, competitively and skillwise.”
“We talked to her camp and did our research a lot,” Kieger said. “I’m excited because this is a fresh start for her. She gets to prove to the country who she really is as a player and as a teammate.”
There’s familiarity between McMiller and Kieger, who recruited McMiller in high school. McMiller even had Penn State on her short list before ultimately choosing Rutgers.
“I’ve always been a person that you can’t put in a box. I knew that coming to Penn State, I’d have that opportunity to be free,” McMiller said. “[Kieger’s] not going to put any of us in a box. … She won’t try to take away our strengths.”
Kieger found similarities between McMiller and Ashley Owusu, another player Kieger had previously signed out of the transfer portal. Owusu played for the Nittany Lions during the 2023-24 season after a similarly tumultuous, though circumstantially different, single season at Virginia Tech.
“Two players who, you know, just need to be in the right system, the right fit,” Kieger said.
Kieger is confident in the early stages of her player-coach relationship with McMiller and sees herself as being wired similarly to McMiller; they are both uber-competitive gym rats who love the game of basketball. She believes McMiller can be one of the best to play her position.
“She’s got the best ball skills I’ve ever seen in terms of her handle. I think once she learns the other aspects of the game, I think she can really flourish,” Kieger said.
For Kieger, one of those aspects is bringing out the best in her teammates as a leader on the floor.
“How many people are you bringing along with you? You know, how many wins is your team getting? I think that’s something she’s really working on right now,” Kieger said.
In describing his outlook for McMiller’s sophomore season, Ellerbe was optimistic.
“It’s going to be a fun year. They’re going to be an exciting team to watch,” Ellerbe said. “Notice how I said ‘team.’ It’s not all about Kiyomi. She has a tremendous supporting cast from top to bottom.”
Penn State’s nucleus will consist of McMiller and 6-foot-6 junior center Gracie Merkle, who averaged 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds last year for the Nittany Lions. In a season-opening win against Bucknell on Monday, McMiller totaled 27 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Merkle finished with 24 points and four rebounds.
The program is also expecting big things from junior guard Moriah Murray.
“I feel like I have the best post player in the country with Gracie and the best shooter in the country with Moriah,” McMiller said.
As for McMiller, well, she’s ready for the show to resume.
“[Last season] was just a little taste of what I can do. It was just the beginning – a very small taste of Kiyomi,” said McMiller, who added that she’s in the best shape of her life. “You didn’t really see much, so you really have to pay attention this year because now it’s going to be so much different.”
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