Dawn Staley wins third USBWA Coach of the Year amid South Carolina's undefeated season
COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley was named USBWA Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, the U.S. Basketball Writers' Association announced Wednesday.
Staley has won the award three times, all in the past four seasons with her first coming in 2020. She joins former Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, LSU coach Kim Mulkey and UConn coach Geno Auriemma as the only coaches to earn coach of the year honors more than twice. Auriemma holds the record at six wins, and Mulkey and McGraw have three apiece.
In 2023, Staley led the Gamecocks (34-0) to the first undefeated regular season in program history. South Carolina swept the SEC regular season and tournament championships and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team advanced to the Sweet 16 for the ninth time in 10 seasons and faces 4-seed UCLA at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN).
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South Carolina is also on a 40-game win streak, the longest active streak in college basketball. The Gamecocks have won 43 straight home games, and they have not lost to a ranked opponents since falling to Stanford in the 2021 Final Four. They made history this season with the first-ever win at then-No. 5 UConn.
Staley is also a finalist for Naismith Coach of the Year and won the award in 2022 after leading the Gamecocks to the 2022 NCAA championship. If South Carolina wins another national title this season, Staley will become just the fourth coach in NCAA women's basketball history to win consecutive championships. She would also be the fifth to complete an undefeated season.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina coach Dawn Staley named USBWA Coach of the Year
