Kerri Clayton had to wait a full year to play in a game after transferring to Arizona State, but the wait was worth it to be a part of history.

“I really like the startup program,” said the junior captain from Baltimore. “I thought it was awesome. Everything we do here is a first. That’s something I really like being a part of. I think it’s awesome to start a program out West. It is growing, and it’s nice to have my foot in something that will mean something really important in a couple years.”

Clayton and 15 others spent last year practicing 20 hours per week like every other Division I lacrosse team. They just didn’t play any games, save for a half dozen club contests that weren’t very competitive.

“It was like 18 months of preseason,” said the junior attacker who athletically is a redshirt sophomore after playing her freshman year at Jacksonville University. “When our first game came, I was ready to go. Nothing was stopping me.”

Nothing did.

Graci Fulkerson scored the first goal in Arizona State history 45 seconds into their program’s debut, and Clayton finished with seven goals in a 14-6 win over Kennesaw State on Feb. 9. Arizona State started 5-1 and was only four minutes from a perfect start after San Diego State rallied for a 14-13 win.

“It was definitely hard to tell how we’d do,” Clayton said. “I knew we would be able to compete when we did our fall ball tournament. We went to Navy and we competed well against Top 10 teams. That was a good indication that the spring would be something special. It’s nice now because coaches will come up and say, ‘You don’t look like a starter program.’ It’s like a backhanded compliment.

“It’s nice to know what we put in is paying off. It’s definitely showing on the field. It’s helpful as a starter program for getting recruits in. We’re not just starting a program to play lacrosse. We’re starting one to compete.”

As they entered Pac-12 play, they led the conference in four categories – goals per game, ground balls per game, points per game and caused turnovers per game. Clayton was second in the country with 27 goals while freshman midfielder Maddy Hunter led the nation with 31 ground balls.

“I don’t ever want to say anything our girls do surprises me,” said ASU head coach Courtney Martinez Connor, Maryland's 2001 MVP of the NCAA national championship. “I think the sky’s the limit when we prepare and plan. Execution of game plan is what ends up showing results. The more game experience that we have, the better that our team will continue to do, especially against high-level, ranked opponents.”

Arizona State fell 14-3 in its first Pac-12 game against USC, a team that itself only started Division I play in 2013.

Within the Pac-12, there are examples of teams that have been able to build success quickly in recent years. USC and Colorado are two programs that moved into the Top 20 in their first four years. Both reached the Top 10.

“As a team, we’ve talked about the fact that other teams have done this; it’s not impossible,” Clayton said. “We know we can do it. With the people we have now and the people that are coming in, and how much our coaches are putting trust in us to play our game, I think we could be a Top 20 team maybe by the time I’m a fifth year.”

While others have laid out a blueprint to quick success, Arizona State faces an extra hurdle.

It’s hard to recruit its own state since Arizona doesn’t sanction high school lacrosse.

“It’s not much of an attraction yet, so we definitely have different paths we’re on,” Martinez Connor said. “We need to help the sport grow and gain fans. I certainly think we look at what they were able to accomplish as well as some other new programs over the years and say, ‘Wow, you can do X, Y and Z in a certain amount of years.’ But I don’t think we put limitations on ourselves because as soon as you do that, you start to back yourself into a corner.”

Arizona State is off to a better Division I start than any Pac-12 team’s inaugural season. Colorado was 4-2 and USC was 4-3 in their first years. Oregon went 0-5. Arizona State’s early success is also in stark contrast to the three other programs to make their Division I debuts this year. East Carolina, Hartford and Wofford were a combined 2-17.

“What helped us is the groundwork that we set last year,” Clayton said. “We did practice like we were going to go to Pac-12 games. We just didn’t have the games to go compete in.”

Clayton is one player that gives Arizona State what it needs most – experience.

But even Clayton only has one year of Division I experience. She started four of the 14 games that she played at Jacksonville. Sydney Bosmans (Shepherd) is a senior transfer, and Alexis Linhardt (Winthrop), Kienan Linhardt (Winthrop), and team co-captain Rachel Gregory (Hofstra) are junior transfers, but Arizona State has used mostly sophomores and freshmen in games while witnessing big improvements.

“On our draws, we’ve really been working with [former North Carolina specialist] Sammy Jo Tracy, our new assistant,” Clayton said. “She’s been putting in a ton of time with our draw people making sure that’s not a weak part of our game. That’s paid off. Every day they improve. We’re working on knowing each other as teammates and making sure we’re playing as one unit. For the most part, it’s been working really well.”

The coaching staff has concentrated on putting the youngsters in game situations in practice to build their experience and prepare them for anything they might see. Behind Clayton in scoring are four freshmen – Emily Glagolev, Taylor Carson, Hunter and Fulkerson.

“The players we have now are really good players and they’re only freshmen,” Clayton said. “The things I see, I don’t think I would have done my freshman year. It’s such a neat thing to watch. I know by the time they’re seniors, they’ll be literally unstoppable. I think it’s good for our program and I know we have good recruits coming in too.”

Arizona State can sell the Pac-12 strength to recruits. The Pac-12 is currently keeping pace with the Big Ten for second behind the ACC for top conference with three teams receiving Top 20 rankings or consideration.

“That speaks volumes about the other teams in our conference and where we’re going,” Martinez Connor said. “I think we have a lot of great coaches and there’s a lot of great lacrosse to be seen and played out west. It shows that West Coast is growing and evolving. You can be a part of building something from the beginning. That’s something we’ve obviously sold – Be a part of the first-ever … Be a Pac-12 Rookie of the Year. Be a first-ever Pac-12 all-conference player.

“There’s only one opportunity to be a first, and from that point on, it’s a part of keeping that legacy going. I think our conference absolutely is here to stay as a power conference in lacrosse. I’m certainly excited for the future of it.”

The Sun Devils remain in Pac-12 play this weekend when they host Oregon on Friday and Colorado on Sunday before they welcome their final non-conference opponent, Liberty, to Tempe, Ariz., on Tuesday. They face each Pac-12 team twice, and finish the regular season by hosting the team that they debuted against, USC.

“We learned a lot from that game,” Clayton said. “We learned what we have to work on. I’m excited that the Pac-12 put in this rule that you have to play home and away. We get another shot this year. That wasn’t a good showing of how we play lacrosse. I’m excited we get a redo almost of that game.”