Dawn Staley, 52, of Philadelphia, is a USA Basketball Hall of Fame player and coach who currently coaches the South Carolina Gamecocks. Dawn Michelle Staley won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA as a player and later became head coach of another gold medal-winning U.S. team.
stAley Michelle Aube is a five-time SEC Coach of the Year and 2012 BCA Coach of the Year and has helped the Gamecocks become a consistent contender for SEC and national titles. Staley set numerous records after joining the Gamecocks as coach, and under her leadership the team won two national championships in 2017 and 2022. She led the team to four NCAA Final Four appearances and eight NCAA appearances, among other cool things she did for the team.


Staley is one of the most accomplished players in American women’s basketball history, and even though her coaching career is just beginning, she is still appreciated for the body of work she has accomplished. His induction into the 2013 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame cemented that legacy.
The Dawn Staley Award for the best guard in women’s basketball was established in 2013 by the Phoenix Club of Philadelphia. Staley was part of the 2012 class of Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees and one of the final candidates for election to the United States Olympic Hall of Fame that same year. In the summer of 2011, the WNBA honored her as one of the league’s best players.


In addition to coaching two National Players of the Year and a National Freshman of the Year, Staley has helped eight Gamecocks earn 19 All-America selections, six SEC Freshman of the Year awards, three SEC Defensive Player of the Year awards, six SEC Player of the Year awards, three SEC Sixth Player of the Year awards and three SEC Player of the Year awards. Eight Gamecocks have been selected in the WNBA draft over the past five seasons, including 2018 No. 1 overall pick A’ja Wilson, who won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award a year after Allisha Gray was named the league’s Rookie of the Year. Dawn Staley has always kept her personal relationships private. She has not revealed whether she is married or has a partner, but rumors have swirled that she may have a wife instead of a husband. While Dawn Staley has never been offended by her fans for being called a lesbian, there have been allegations of a relationship between her and Lisa Boyer. Dawn Michelle Staley is estimated to be worth $2.9 million. Staley’s base salary is $1 million per year, with outside compensation starting at $1.9 million in her first year and increasing by $100,000 per year thereafter. According to the school, the head coach’s salary for 2021-22 “starts at $2.9 million and peaks at $3.5 million in the final year.”

