Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley
Staley with the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2020
South Carolina Gamecocks
PositionHead coach
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (1970-05-04) May 4, 1970 (age 54)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Career information
High schoolDobbins Tech
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
CollegeVirginia (1988–1992)
WNBA draft1999: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the Charlotte Sting
Playing career1996–2006
PositionPoint guard
Number5
Coaching career2000–present
Career history
As player:
1994–1995Tarbes Gespe Bigorre
1996–1998Richmond / Philadelphia Rage
19992005Charlotte Sting
20052006Houston Comets
As coach:
2000–2008Temple
2008–presentSouth Carolina
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970)[1] is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. A point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers and spent eight seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), primarily with the Charlotte Sting. Staley also played on the United States women's national basketball team, winning three gold medals at the Olympic Games from 1996 to 2004, and was the head coach of the team that won an Olympic gold medal in 2021.[2] She is the first person to win the Naismith Award as both a player and a coach.

During her college career with Virginia from 1988 to 1992, Staley set the NCAA record for steals, the school record for points, and the ACC record for assists. She played professionally in the American Basketball League (ABL) during its three years of operation before being selected ninth overall by the Sting in the 1999 WNBA draft. As a member of the Sting and the Houston Comets, she received six consecutive WNBA All-Star selections from 2001 to her final season in 2006. Staley spent most of her WNBA career simultaneously serving as the head coach of the Temple Owls women's basketball team from 2000 to 2008, leading them to six NCAA tournaments, three regular-season conference championships, and four conference tournament titles.

After becoming South Carolina's head coach in 2008, Staley rebuilt the Gamecocks into one of the top women's basketball programs. During her 16 seasons, she has led South Carolina to eight SEC regular season championships, eight SEC tournament championships, eight Sweet Sixteens, five Final Fours, and three NCAA women's basketball national championships, including the school's first in 2017 and a perfect season in 2024.[3][4][5] Staley was inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference NCAA Coaches was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Day, Meredith (August 6, 2021). "Team USA Women's Basketball Secures 7th Straight Gold Medal, Defeating Japan". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "South Carolina pounds UConn, 64-49, to take women's basketball championship". NBC News. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via The Associated Press.
  4. ^ Titus, Payton (April 4, 2024). "Best of the best: South Carolina's Dawn Staley named Naismith Coach of the Year". MSN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2024 – via The Charlotte Observer.
  5. ^ "South Carolina wins 2024 national title: Gamecocks take down Caitlin Clark, Iowa; complete undefeated season". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2024.

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