Charleston Reporter

University of South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley has been named USA Basketball co-Coach of the Year.

Staley was named along with San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, in recognition of their leadership of gold-medal winning USA Basketball teams during the Tokyo Olympics this past summer, according to a university press release. 

Staley lead the U.S. women's team to its seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal. She also led the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup team to 6-0 for the gold, and earned the U.S. women their spot in the 2022 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournaments.

"It's an honor to be recognized by USA Basketball and even more so to share this award with Gregg Popovich," Staley said in the release. "I got the best of both worlds this year with the AmeriCup team of college players and the Olympic team, who both came in with a team-first mentality that was fun to coach and help them to gold medals.

"Leading an Olympic team on the cusp of history was a responsibility I took to heart, and I appreciate the players who embraced the way we wanted to play and did what they had to in order to continue that Olympic streak."

Staley also earned co-Coach of the Year honors in 2015 and 2018.

Staley and her top-ranked Gamecocks return to action 7 p.m. Tuesday against No. 3 Stanford in Columbia.