South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley has continued to be one of the strongest pipelines to the WNBA. After making two straight national championship games, South Carolina has a dozen of their players in the WNBA and three more were selected in the WNBA draft.
On Wednesday, Staley took to X to celebrate this accomplishment as she showed pride in his coached players making it to one of the most competitive women’s basketball leagues in the world.
“1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 @GamecockWBB in the
@WNBA. We are blessed!! Congrats ladies! Earned. Deserved. And never ever taken for granted. God is the greatest!!” she wrote.
In another message, she wrote:
“Make that a baker’s dozen! @GamecockWBB in the @WNBA! Lord I thank you!!”
This celebration comes after 12 Gamecocks players made it to the Opening Day rosters in the 2026 WNBA season, a program record. So far, Staley has given 21 draft picks, including 13 players in the first round. Last year, the number of South Carolina players on the Opening Day roster was nine. In 2024, there were 10, but that record was broken with 12 this year.
Listing Dawn Staley’s 12 South Carolina Gamecocks Players on 2026 WNBA Opening Day Rosters
Three South Carolina players were drafted in 2026, including Raven Johnson (No. 10 overall, Indiana Fever), Madina Okot (No. 13, Atlanta Dream), and Ta’Niya Latson (No. 20, LA Sparks).
Some notable South Carolina names include Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson, who is a three-time WNBA champion and Aliyah Boston, who plays for the Indiana Fever alongside Caitlin Clark after being selected No. 1 overall in 2023. Allisha Gray is the former fourth overall pick and continues to put up great numbers season after season. She averaged 18.4 points and 3.5 assists per game last season.
Laeticia Amihere plays for Golden State Valkyries and last season she recorded 5.4 points per game. Kamilla Cordoso is a premium talent out of South Carolina, with averages of 13.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in 2025. Zia Cooke plays for the Seattle Storm after being drafted three years ago.
Sania Feagin is with the LA Sparks, having been drafted No. 20 last year. Tyasha Harris is with the Indiana Fever this year. She only played five games due to injury last year. Te-Hina Paopao is with the Dream and she averaged 5.8 points per game last season.
Here’s the full list compiled:
- A’ja Wilson
- Aliyah Boston
- Kamilla Cardoso
- Allisha Gray
- Tyasha Harris
- Laeticia Amihere
- Zia Cooke
- Te-Hina Paopao
- Sania Feagin
- Raven Johnson
- Madina Okot
- Ta’Niya Latson
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