South Carolina's Dawn Staley Named AP WCBB Coach of the Year; 2nd Time Winning Award

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has won the Associated Press women's college basketball Coach of the Year award for a second time.

Staley has led the Gamecocks to a 36-0 record despite losing all five starters from last year's team. The Gamecocks are searching for their third national championship under Staley, who also led South Carolina to victories in 2017 and 2022.

Staley earned 27 of a possible 35 votes from a national media panel that also decides the AP's Top 25 poll.

USC's Lindsay Gottlieb, Syracuse's Felisha Legette-Jack and Oregon State's Scott Rueck each had two votes apiece, tying for second. All votes were tallied before the NCAA tournament began.

Staley is now just the fifth coach to win the award on multiple occasions, with the other four being Geno Auriemma, Muffet McGraw, Kim Mulkey and Brenda Frese. Auriemma has won the award nine times since its inception in 1995.

Staley is a former superstar point guard who has won the Naismith Award as both a player and a coach. A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2013, Staley has also won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA (1996, 2000, 2004). In the pros, Staley earned WNBA All-Star honors on six occasions.

Staley coached Temple from 2000-2008 before moving to South Carolina. She's led the Gamecocks to a 438-106 record and six Final Fours, including four straight. South Carolina also had the nation's top team in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the NCAA tournament.

Now Staley and the Gamecocks are focused on winning another national title. Up next is a Final Four date with North Carolina State on Friday. The winner will head to Sunday's national championship to face either Iowa or UConn.