South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley has been named to the 2026 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Watch List Presented by AXIA Time, according to an announcement from the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Staley is among 15 coaches considered for this year’s honor.
Staley is the only coach to have won the award in three consecutive seasons and has claimed it four times in the last six years. Entering the 2025-26 season, she faced significant roster changes, with just one returning starter and two high-volume reserves remaining after injuries and graduation impacted last year’s NCAA Runner-Up team. To address these losses, Staley brought in the 2025 NCAA leading scorer and a top SEC center through the transfer portal, as well as two top-15 freshmen.
Despite these changes, expectations for South Carolina remained high. The Gamecocks are currently ranked third in both major polls and have secured seven wins over ranked opponents, including four against teams in the top ten. The team’s offense ranks third nationally in points per game (87.8) and field goal percentage (.383). Defensively, South Carolina stands at 18th in scoring defense (56.3), second in field goal percentage defense (.336), and fifth in blocks per game (6.2).
Staley commented on her approach this season: “I adapted my strategy to fit our personnel and nurtured them through the growing pains of new roles.”
The No. 3/3 Gamecocks are set to play two ranked opponents this week: they will travel to face No. 25/24 Alabama on Thursday, February 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network, then host No. 17/17 Ole Miss on Sunday, February 22 at noon on ESPN. College Game Day will broadcast live from Colonial Life Arena starting at 11 a.m.
The full list of coaches on the watch list includes Geno Auriemma (UConn), Jennie Baranczyk (Oklahoma), Kim Barnes-Arico (Michigan), Carla Berube (Princeton), Cori Close (UCLA), Krista Gerlich (Texas Tech), Jan Jensen (Iowa), Kara Lawson (Duke), Kevin McGuff (Ohio State), Kim Mulkey (LSU), Shea Ralph (Vanderbilt), Tammi Reiss (Rhode Island), Vic Schaefer (Texas), Dawn Staley (South Carolina) and Jeff Walz (Louisville).
For more updates about South Carolina women’s basketball, visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow @GamecockWBB on social media.
