Dawn Staley

Bio

Catapulting South Carolina into the national spotlight, Dawn Staley has made the Gamecocks a mainstay in the battle for SEC and national championships. Under her leadership, the Gamecocks have reached many firsts – National Championships, NCAA Final Fours, No. 1 rankings, SEC regular-season and tournament titles, SEC Players of the Year, National Players of the Year, WNBA No. 1 Draft picks and No. 1 recruiting classes – to name the most notable.

Staley’s 17 seasons at the helm of the Gamecocks include:

• Three NCAA National Championships (2017, 2022, 2024)
• Seven NCAA Final Fours in the last eight tournaments (2015, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• Eight 30-win seasons, including a program-record 38 wins in 2023-24
• Eight SEC regular-season championships (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• Nine SEC Tournament titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• Eleven NCAA Attendance titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• Four-time Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year award winner (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024)

While her coaching career is in full bloom, Staley is still recognized for her body of work as a one of the most decorated participants in United States women’s basketball history. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame solidified that legacy with her enshrinement as part of the Class of 2013. The Phoenix Club of Philadelphia established the Dawn Staley Award recognizing the nation’s top guard in women’s Division I basketball in 2013 as well. Staley was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2012 and was one of the final nominees for induction to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame the same year. In the summer of 2011, the WNBA recognized her as one of the league’s “Top 15,” honoring the most influential players in the league’s history.

In 25 seasons as a head coach, Staley has led her college teams to 15 25-win seasons, a total of 21 postseason appearances (two WNIT) including an undefeated (38-0) season in 2023-24.

Also a force in USA Basketball, Staley was named the U.S. Women’s National Team head coach for 2017-21, leading the U.S. to 2018 FIBA World Cup gold to earn USAB National Coach of the Year honors that year, adding gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 FIBA AmeriCups and stretching the U.S. Olympic gold medal streak to seven straight at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Prior to that appointment, Staley led three other U.S. teams to gold medals – 2015 FIBA U19 World Championships, 2014 FIBA U18 Americas Championship, 2007 Pan Am Games – and served as an assistant on the Senior National Team 2006-08 and again 2014-16, during which the U.S. claimed gold in the 2014 FIBA World Championship and the 2008 and 2016 Olympics.

At the helm of the Gamecocks over the last 17 seasons, Staley has been named National Coach of the Year five times (2014, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024). Her 2020 unanimous selection made her the first former Naismith Player of the Year to earn the Naismith Coach of the Year award, and she is the first men’s or women’s coach to receive the award in three consecutive seasons (2022-2024). She is a seven-time SEC Coach of the Year and was the 2012 BCA Female Coach of the Year. She is the only Gamecock basketball coach – men’s or women’s – to amass 300 victories at South Carolina and became the fastest coach to 200 wins in program history, needing just 277 games at South Carolina to reach the plateau. She is the program’s all-time winningest coach (475 wins) with a program-record 14 postseason appearances and is the only black head coach in men’s or women’s basketball to win multiple national championships.

Staley lives that mantra daily not only through individual appearances and in encouraging her teams to pursue community services opportunities, but also through co-founding INNERSOLE. Since her arrival at South Carolina, she has continually invested time with various projects in Columbia but found that she craved one hallmark initiative that could provide sustained assistance and create lasting change in one of her favorite constituencies – children. In July 2013, Staley found that in the creation of INNERSOLE, which aims to provide new sneakers to children who are homeless and children who are in need. Remembering the feeling of confidence and pride she felt as a child whenever she wore new sneakers, Staley initially launched the organization via social media, and her broad network of friends, fans and colleagues immediately leapt into action. Shoes poured in from all around the country, and a movement was born.

For the first time, Dawn Staley is sharing her inspiring life story through her new book, Uncommon Favor which reveals the journey that led to Staley’s success, including the challenges she faced. From dealing with sexism on the court to feeling isolated in new environments, Staley honed her skills and learned valuable life lessons about mental fortitude and maturity that have grounded her throughout her career. Beginning with her humble origins on the North Philadelphia basketball court and her rise to national fame at the University of Virginia—where she led her team to three Final Fours—Staley recounts the key moments that shaped her winning mindset.

Her iconic career in the WNBA and her groundbreaking coaching journey at the University of South Carolina highlight the milestones and turning points that have defined her success, both on and off the court. Fearless and authentic, Uncommon Favor shares the rewards of leading with conviction and the courage to redefine the limits of what is possible.