Dawn Staley Earns Spot on Prestigious Coach of the Year Watch List

South Carolina women’s basketball Head coach Dawn Staley continues to solidify her place as one of the nation’s premier coaches, not just in women’s basketball, but across all sports. With a track record of at least three National Championships, Staley is part of a very exclusive group in the sport.

Today, Coach Staley has been added to the 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List, an honor that she has claimed four times before, including in the last three consecutive seasons. Only UConn’s Geno Auriemma and the legendary Pat Summitt from Tennessee have received this award more than Staley, with Auriemma winning it eight times and Summitt five.

Staley joins 14 other top coaches on the list, including Auriemma, Kentucky’s Kenny Brooks, Tennessee’s Kim Caldwell, TCU’s Mark Campbell, and UCLA’s Cori Close, just to name a few. Despite some offseason challenges, including losing National Player of the Year candidate Kamilla Cardoso, Staley has once again led the Gamecocks to the top of their game, with a strong chance to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Staley’s Gamecocks have been dominating, recently breaking several NCAA records. South Carolina currently boasts a 43-game win streak, the longest in program history, as well as an impressive 71-game home win streak—ranking third in NCAA history. This team has also dominated the SEC, with a league-leading 57-game regular-season conference win streak.

With an overall record of 23-3, Staley’s Gamecocks are sitting comfortably atop the SEC standings with an 11-1 conference record. South Carolina’s schedule has been the toughest in the nation, yet they continue to perform at an elite level, ranking highly in scoring, defense, and rebounding. They have the nation’s top bench scoring, with 41.6 points per game, and are ranked 6th in blocks per game.

Up next, the Gamecocks are back at Colonial Life Arena for their final game of a three-game homestand, facing off against Arkansas at 7 p.m. this Thursday.

Stay tuned for more updates on South Carolina women’s basketball through GamecocksOnline.com and their social media accounts @GamecockWBB.

And here’s the complete list of coaches on the Naismith Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List:

• Geno Auriemma, UConn
• Kenny Brooks, Kentucky
• Kim Caldwell, Tennessee
• Mark Campbell, TCU
• Cori Close, UCLA
• Nell Fortner, Georgia Tech
• Lindsay Gottlieb, Southern Cal
• Niele Ivey, Notre Dame
• Kevin McGuff, Ohio State
• Jeff Mittie, Kansas State
• Wes Moore, NC State
• Kim Mulkey, LSU
• Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt
• Vic Schaefer, Texas
• Dawn Staley, South Carolina