Dawn Staley, one of the most decorated players in women’s basketball history, is on the way to a Hall of Fame coaching career, building South Carolina into a juggernaut NCAA program and a pathway for her players to have successful WNBA careers.

When Staley took over the South Carolina program back in 2009, the Gamecocks finished with just two SEC wins and landed in 11th place. Two years later, they collected 25 wins, were in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet Sixteen. In 2014, South Carolina reached its first Final Four. In 2017, the Gamecocks won their first NCAA title and they are the No. 1 overall seed in the 2022 Tournament.

Such is the impact of the diminutive powerhouse from Philadelphia, who played eight years in the WNBA, finishing in the top six in assists in each year that she played. Her ability as a floor general has translated well to her head coaching career, as she has groomed a series of WNBA talents headlined by A’ja Wilson, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft who won the league’s MVP award in 2020 and is considered one of the best players on the planet.

Staley has turned South Carolina into the standard-bearer in the SEC, with six conference titles, nine consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament and 30-plus wins in five of the last eight seasons.

Wilson is the biggest part of what is a growing WNBA legacy for South Carolina players, who have seen the program produce seven first-round picks in the last seven seasons, and nine first-round picks overall.

South Carolina has produced 12 WNBA Draft picks, the first in Staley’s tenure was Aleighsa Welch, chosen in the second-round of the 2015 draft. A year later, Tiffany Mitchell became the first Gamecock to be chosen in the first round. And A’ja Wilson became the program’s first overall pick in 2018.

Of Staley’s first six draftees, four have been selected to the WNBA All-Rookie Team, including Rookies of the Year Allisha Gray and Wilson.

Should senior guard Destanni Henderson and forward Victaria Saxton renounce their remaining NCAA eligibility and make themselves available for the draft, they are ready to add their names to South Carolina’s WNBA legacy. Henderson was chosen as a first-team All-American for the first time, averaging 11.1 points and collecting 112 assists so far this season (4.2 per game). Saxton has averaged 5.7 points and 5.9 rebounds this season, shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor in a part-time role.

Longtime WNBA reporter Michelle Smith writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.

NCAA players mentioned in this article will become eligible for the 2022 draft at such point as they renounce their remaining NCAA eligibility and thereby make themselves available for the  draft.