Arizona women’s basketball adds 2 players to 2025 class

Former Auburn commit Ogheneruona Miracle Akpotayobo and former Buffalo commit Molly Ladwig

Arizona women’s basketball officially has a freshman class!

The Wildcats lost their two signees from last November, both of whom followed former head coach Adia Barnes to SMU. This time, it was Becky Burke taking advantage of a coaching change elsewhere by signing former Auburn commit Ogheneruona Miracle and bringing former Buffalo commit Molly Ladwig with her.

The 6-foot-3 Ogheneruona Miracle played under the name Ogheneruona Akpotayobo in high school. The post player spent her prep years at several institutions across the Midwest, Southeast, and the state of Texas.

The native of Nigeria started with Life Prep Academy in Wichita, Kan. She appeared on its 2021-22 roster, on its 2022-23 roster, on its 2023-24 roster, and in HUDL highlights from the program.

Miracle spent some time with Christian Pointe Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Fla. She played on their national squad as a junior for part of the 2023-24 season. Her MaxPreps stats indicate she appeared in nine games for CPCA. She also appeared on the roster of powerhouse DeSoto High School in Texas, making it three programs that listed her over the course of the season.

Miracle remained in Texas for her senior season. She played for White High School in Dallas this past year. Her prep highlights from Life Prep, DeSoto, and White can be found on her HUDL page. Additional highlights are posted on Instagram.

The other incoming freshman had a more settled prep career. The Blair, Neb. native played for Omaha Skutt Catholic High School and the Nebraska Attack club team.

Ladwig led her team to a 28-1 record and the Nebraska Class B state championship this season. The Skyhawks were runners-up the previous three seasons, going a combined 81-5 in that period.

Perhaps her biggest individual claim to fame this season was being one of the players who scored 50 or more points in a game. Ladwig had an even 50 on Jan. 31, 2025.

Her profile on the Elite Is Earned recruiting site indicates that she had offers from Illinois State, Cal Baptist, North Dakota State, Lehigh, Omaha, Valparaiso, and Bradley in addition to Buffalo.

Ladwig’s evaluation from Prospects Nation stated that her strengths were passing/vision, basketball IQ, and perimeter shooting. The area she needed to improve on was defensive impact. Her highlights can be found on her HUDL profile.

Ladwig and Miracle bring the total number of Arizona players in the 2025 class to three. Transfer guard Kamryn Kitchen was originally a part of the 2025 class before reclassifying to 2024. She redshirted her true freshman year at Virginia, giving her four years of eligibility.

Lead graphic courtesy of Arizona Athletics