“She's gonna lift that league up”: Dawn Staley drops bold statement on Caitlin Clark’s WNBA future after defeat in 2024 NCAA championship game

After South Carolina capped off their perfect season with a national championship win over Iowa, Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley had nothing but kind words for the Hawkeyes' Caitlin Clark.

Staley went on the podium during her team's post-game on-court interviews, and among the first words to come out of her were grateful ones—specifically, a message of thanks directed towards the Iowa star:

"I really would just like to say: I`d like to congratulate Iowa on an incredible season. Also, I wanna personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport."

Staley continues:

"And it`s not gonna stop here on a collegiate tour, but when she`s the number one pick in the WNBA Draft, she`s gonna lift that league up as well. So Caitlin Clark, if you`re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game and I appreciate you."

Dawn Staley's incredibly classy remark is just the cherry on top for South Carolina's magical run to the national title. As previously mentioned, literally nobody else has beaten the Gamecocks all year. Most importantly, all of their games during this year's March Madness were double-digit wins, including their title victory over an equally great team in the Iowa Hawkeyes.

As of this writing, one could easily put South Carolina's 2024 title run as one of the most dominant championship runs ever in NCAA history. Not to mention, they are now the 10th team in overall Division 1 history to finish with a perfect season (via ESPN). Dawn Staley's squad joins legendary teams like Baylor, UConn, Tennessee, and Texas as the only programs to achieve this feat.

Dawn Staley's incredible tenure with South Carolina

To say that South Carolina's success with Dawn Staley at the helm is a fluke is an absolute disservice to the amount of success this specific partnership has already achieved. And one doesn't need to dig deep to prove such an assumption wrong.

With this win, SC has won its third national title in seven seasons (via ESPN) and their second overall in three years. But perhaps the most impressive in this is the Gamecocks' overall win-loss record during those three years: 109 wins and just three losses overall. It's an insane feat to think about, and a testament to the kind of program that Staley helped build in Columbia.

For now, the future is indeed bright for women's basketball, both at the collegiate level and in the pros.