Staley Named Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley was one of 10 coaches named a semifinalist for 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. Staley is the only four-time winner in the award’s history for men’s or women’s basketball, including winning it the last three seasons.
Staley led the Gamecocks to the SEC Regular-Season and Tournament titles, sweeping the two for the third-straight season and the seventh time in the last 11 seasons. After putting together the toughest schedule in the nation, according to the NET rankings, she led South Carolina to its fourth-straight 30-win season and the eighth 30-win campaign in her 17 seasons in Columbia.
The Gamecocks’ 19 Quad 1 games are the most in the country and include six non-conference regular-season outings. Their 16 Quad 1 wins are also the most in the nation.
South Carolina has 12 wins over ranked opponents, including an NCAA-best seven against top-10 opponents, and has won those games by an average of 20.0 points with only one decided by single digits. The Gamecocks’ success has been built on a team concept that has them ranked 11th in the nation in points per game and their top scorer averaging just 13.2 points per game. Seven Gamecocks average at least 7.0 points per game, and the South Carolina bench leads the nation in scoring at 41.5 points per game.
No. 2/2 South Carolina awaits its seeding and opponent for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, which will be announced on Sun., Mar. 16, at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on South Carolina women’s basketball.
Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalists
Geno Auriemma, UConn
Kenny Brooks, Kentucky
Mark Campbell, TCU
Cori Close, UCLA
Lindsay Gottlieb, Southern Cal
Niele Ivey, Notre Dame
Wes Moore, NC State
Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt
Vic Schaefer, Texas
Dawn Staley, South Carolina
Dawn Staley has new nickname for South Carolina team before March Madness
Dawn Staley has called South Carolina ‘Post Player U’ after highlighting their game plan, and has hinted that the Gamecocks will use the transfer portal to secure a tall center
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has adopted a new nickname for her Gamecocks after claiming: “We are Post Player U.”
Staley has been speaking highly of South Carolina duo Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin ahead of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, after the Gamecocks won the SEC Tournament for the third consecutive year with a 64-45 win over Texas. Both players were named to the SEC All-Tournament Team, with Kitts also being awarded SEC Tournament MVP.
While Kitts and Feagin have been thriving as post players for the Gamecocks, Staley is already looking ahead to next season as she looks to find a forward player who is at least 6-foot-4. Tall centers have been a common theme in Staley’s rotation since she became South Carolina head coach in 2008, but despite enjoying success this season, she isn’t fully satisfied.
Alaina Coates, A’ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston, and Kamilla Cardoso are all former Gamecocks players who stood at 6-foot-4 and over and brought success to South Carolina under coach Staley. During an appearance on ‘Carolina Calls’ on Tuesday, Staley hinted that a tall center could join the roster next season.
“[We will] see where the transfer portal leads us,” Staley said. Even with a slightly smaller roster, the Gamecocks have still only lost three games all season and enter March Madness as one of the favorites to win the tournament.
Cardoso, who stands at 6-foot-7, left South Carolina at the end of last season after declaring for the 2024 WNBA Draft. Since then, Kitts and Feagin have stood up as post players, while MiLaysia Fulwiley, Joyce Edwards, and Ashlyn Watkins have also helped the Gamecocks remain one of the best in the nation.
Staley will look to replace Feagin when she departs South Carolina after this season, and the Gamecocks head coach was full of praise for the talented senior when reflecting on her journey. “I’m really, really proud of Feagin…it’s easy to leave a place that you don’t feel like you’re ever going to get any playing time or like you’ll ever start,” Staley said.
“It’s kind of really cool to see someone go through their process. Probably the first three years of her college year, didn’t quite look or feel or sound like what she was capable of. I will say that I never let Feagin play less than their standard, less than her standard.
“That meant she sat a lot. That meant she played here and there, spotted here and there. This year it paid off. When she’s locked in, she’s communicative, she’s skillful, she can stick to a game plan, she can defend. I mean, she’s got great footwork. She’s got a great touch.
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“She is very efficient around the basket. That is her. You’re seeing all of her skill set that we saw during the recruiting process that we didn’t see on a consistent basis her first three years.”
Staley was also complimentary of Kitts, though she had less to say about the junior than she did about Feagin. “[Chloe Kitts] is a dawg when it comes to playing this game…I think it’s cool to see her progress,” she said.
South Carolina is expected to be a No. 1 seed when the March Madness brackets are announced on Selection Sunday. The first round of the NCAA Tournament begins on March 21 and runs through to April 6, when the NCAA championship game takes place.
