No. 1 South Carolina will travel to Coppin State in 2025, coach Dawn Staley says.

In her 25 years of coaching, Dawn Staley’s teams have won 614 games and three national championships. 

Coppin State’s women’s basketball team will get another crack at a Southeastern Conference powerhouse on its home court next season.

Ahead of her team’s home opener against the Eagles on Thursday, Dawn Staley said No. 1 South Carolina will travel to Baltimore to play Coppin State in 2025.

Last December, the Eagles hosted the defending national champion LSU Tigers, a team that featured Baltimore-area native Angel Reese. A sellout crowd filled the the Physical Education Complex on the school’s West Baltimore campus for Reese’s homecoming.

“When LSU called us last year and said they wanted to schedule this game here in Baltimore, there was no hesitation on our part,” Coppin coach Jermaine Woods told The Banner at the time. “It’s pretty cool when you’re a small HBCU [historically Black college or university] and you get to tell recruits, ‘Hey, you’ll get a chance to play against the defending national champions at our place next year if you come here.’ We knew this would be a great opportunity, not just for the team but for the entire university.”

Staley told reporters Wednesday that there were some additional logistics involved.

“We’re fortunate that they moved some things around for us to play, then we’ll return to them,” she said.

Even with the celebratory mood that comes with a recent championship, Staley said South Carolina is not looking past the Eagles as the Gamecocks look to extend their 40-game winning streak.

“They play hard for 40 minutes; they run some great stuff,” she said. “They’re going to come in here ready to rock ’n’ roll. … We’ve got to play our style of play. We’ve got to prepare like we normally prepare for a game and not take anyone lightly.”

After starting their season with two games at neutral sites, including a 71-57 win over No. 9 NC State at the Ally Tipoff in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Gamecocks will finally get a chance to return to Colonial Life Arena to raise the national championship banner — their second title in three years — marking their 38-0 campaign in the 2023-24 season.

That recent dominance helps explain how this matchup with Coppin State came to be.

In August, Staley posted on X about her struggles to fill out South Carolina’s nonconference schedule.

“Really sorry I have to resort to this but-we need a game,” she wrote. “I’ve had some nice, funny and outlandish convos regarding scheduling a game [home and home] with a guarantee and guaranteed a great student-athlete experience. Any interest please let me know. Need to finish this schedule.”

Four days later, she posted that a matchup had been secured — “I love my HBCUs!” she wrote — and by mid-September, a schedule was released with Coppin State coming to Columbia on Nov. 14.

Staley told reporters Wednesday that there were some additional logistics involved.

“We’re fortunate that they moved some things around for us to play, then we’ll return to them,” she said.

Even with the celebratory mood that comes with a recent championship, Staley said South Carolina is not looking past the Eagles as the Gamecocks look to extend their 40-game winning streak.

“They play hard for 40 minutes; they run some great stuff,” she said. “They’re going to come in here ready to rock ’n’ roll. … We’ve got to play our style of play. We’ve got to prepare like we normally prepare for a game and not take anyone lightly.”