The Grand Canyon just acquired one of the most promising young coaches in the country, Winston Gandy, to be their next head coach. Gandy has been an assistant coach for the University of South Carolina under Dawn Staley for two years.
Dawn Staley spoke about Gandy leaving the Gamecocks, saying, “We knew he was on borrowed time when we got him. We were hoping for a little more time, but duty calls… it couldn’t happen to a better guy.”
Grand Canyon Hires South Carolina Assistant Winston Gandy as Head Coach
Winston Gandy has been involved in basketball since 2013, when he started as Maryland’s director of recruiting operations. During his season as director, he helped guide that team to the program’s third national final.
“We knew he was on borrowed time when we got him. We were hoping for a little more time, but duty calls.”
Dawn Staley offers her gratitude for Winston Gandy, who took the Grand Canyon HC job this week. Gandy will be with the Gamecocks through their final game. pic.twitter.com/kstzULzv8Z
— Julia Westerman (@JuliaWesterman) March 27, 2025
He wasn’t in Maryland long, as the Washington Wizards saw his talents and acquired him to become the Coordinator of Player Development from 2014 to 2017. At this time, he worked with players like Bradley Beal, John Wall, Otto Porter Jr., and more.
For the next five years, Gandy served as an assistant coach at Rice and Duke.
During his three-year stint at Rice, he participated in two Conference USA regular-season championships in 2019 & 2020. He was part of a team that reached a program-record 28 wins during the 2018 season.
He started as an assistant coach at Duke during the 2020-2021 season. During his tenure there, the Blue Devils were 46-21 and made it to the second round of the playoffs. He was only there three seasons before becoming an assistant coach for Dawn Staley at South Carolina.
Gandy has big goals for Grand Canyon as he starts his head coaching career. The reigning WNCAA champion assistant coach said, “Our goal is to have a top-25 women’s basketball program in the country.”
The new head coach wants the Grand Canyon Lopes recognized nationally, and he believes the Lopes can accomplish that. During an interview with insider Paul Coro, he said, “A lot of times you don’t have the recourses, or the vision, or leadership in place, but this place has that.”
Much of this leadership has been built over the tenure of new Arizona State Head Coach Molly Miller. Last year, the Lopes were 32-3 under Miller. Miller has improved the Lopes’ win total almost every season, with her pinnacle being 32 wins this year. The Lopes made the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history this year as a 13th seed.
Winston Gandy has the chance to win back-to-back championships with the Gamecocks this year before he says farewell to the program after only two seasons.
KEEP READING: Dawn Staley Sings Praises of New Grand Canyon Head Coach Winston Gandy
Winston Gandy, Dawn Staley, and South Carolina are facing off against Maryland in the Sweet 16 today at 5:00 p.m. EST. Gandy and the Gamecocks can advance to the Elite 8 for the 5th straight year against the program that started his post-grad basketball career.
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