South Carolina Dawn Staley Mar 5, 2023; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley shows the the net to the crowd after winning the SEC Championship at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports
College BasketballBy Chris Novak on

South Carolina women’s basketball is a powerhouse. The Gamecocks are unbeaten as they march to the Sweet 16 this weekend. As expected and anticipated, huge news arrived on the South Carolina doorstep on Wednesday. The esteemed Dawn Staley, head coach of the Gamecocks women’s basketball team, earned the Coach of the Year Award.

The United States’ Basketball Writers Association voted Staley as the Women’s Coach of the Year. This is her third USBWA National Coach of the Year Award after she won the honor last season and in 22.

“The GOAT gets a crown. @dawnstaley is the @USBWA Coach of the Year!” South Carolina’s Women’s Basketball Twitter account boasted on Wednesday afternoon.

Staley’s achievement comes to little surprise. She has risen up to the top of the ranks as one of the best coaches in college basketball. Staley has already earned more USBWA Coach of the Year awards (3) than she did as a player (2, 1991 & 1992).

She’s led the Gamecocks to the title last season and in 2022. The Gamecocks hope to go back-to-back as they’ve maintained a wire-to-wire spot at the top of the AP Top 25 this season. They have a lot of work to get to UConn and their poll streak. However, they’re already at 38 weeks, so they’re steadfast approaching.

According to the USBWA, the group will present Dawn Staley with her award in St. Louis in April.

The college sports world reacted to the huge South Carolina news.

As it turns out, it was such big news, the Aflac Duck even congratulated her!

[GamecockWBB]

About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022

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