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South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley among 'most admired' sports leaders
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- South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley among 'most admired' sports leaders
South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley is one of the most admired leaders in sports according to a survey conducted by The Athletic .
In the article published Jan. 15 , Staley ranked No. 2 based on results from 116 participants surveyed in October and November.
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Along with the results the article gave three direct quotes from people for each of the 40 individuals.
"She teaches you how to hover above the noise, have fun and grow. She is a truth teller," said former UCLA softball coach Sue Enquist about Staley.
Staley is in her 18th season with the No. 2 Gamecocks (17-1, 4-0 SEC) who host No. 4 Texas on Jan. 15 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
She's won three national championships since 2017 and has seven Final Four appearances in the last 10 seasons. She's aiming for her sixth straight this postseason.
South Carolina has produced 18 WNBA draft selections under Staley including two overall No. 1 picks. A'ja Wilson was the first in 2018 and she was voted No. 9 overall on The Athletic's list . Wilson has since become the WNBA's first four-time MVP.
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Staley has nine 30-win seasons and went undefeated in 2023-24, winning her most recent title. She's a five time National Coach of the Year winner, highlighted by three straight from 2022-24.
"Her impact goes far beyond wins and championships. She builds people, sets standards and has left every program better than she found it. Dawn transcends sports; the best leaders in every arena look to her for wisdom, perspective and guidance," said former Tennessee Titans running back and Bowling Green football coach Eddie George in the article.
Both Staley and George are from Philadelphia.
According to the article, The Athletic used "most admired" because it was "intentionally vague" specifying that you don't have to know someone to admire them and you can admire someone for different reasons.
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The article also clarified there weren't any rules against voting for people you worked with or played for but the leaders had to be active as a coach, player or executive in 2025.
Scoonie Penn, a former assistant in the NBA for the Memphis Grizzlies said "It's the way players always talk about her, the love they show her, the way they go back to the school and the way she shows up for them. That's really powerful," in the article about Staley.
Staley was sandwiched between Golden Star Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was No. 1 and Warriors star Steph Curry who was No. 3.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com . Follow her on X @Lulukesin and Bluesky @bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina coach Dawn Staley among 'most admired' sports leaders
