Over the last decade, South Carolina basketball has established itself as one of the premier programs in all of college basketball as head coach Dawn Staley has built a powerhouse in Columbia, South Carolina. The Gamecocks have won two national championships since 2017 (no one else has multiple titles in that span), and Carolina has been to four separate Final Fours (one shy of UConn’s five trips to the national semifinals). Staley’s squad also were the undisputed best team in the nation in 2020 when the season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coach Staley has built her program on the backs of elite talent as she has become, arguably, the top recruiter in college basketball, both from the high school and the transfer portal.