What is Dawn Staley's ethnicity? Taking a closer look at South Carolina HC's nationality and background

South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley has proven to be one of the best coaches in college basketball. She won the Naismith College Player of the Year Award in 1991 and 1992 while also coaching incredibly well, winning a pair of national championships as a coach. Let's take a look at Dawn Staley's background.

What is Dawn Staley's ethnicity?

South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley is African American. She was born on May 4, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Clarence and Estelle Staley, who are both African American. She is one of five children in the family and has three brothers and a sister.

Dawn Staley is the second African American coach to lead a women's basketball team to a national championship and she is currently attempting to become one of the few coaches in women's college basketball history to go undefeated and cut down the nets.

What has Dawn Staley done as a coach throughout her career?

Dawn Staley has been the head coach of a college basketball program for 24 years and made the NCAA Tournament in 18 seasons. She has more than proven her worth as she has won three Naismith Coach of the Year Awards. Staley coached for the Temple Owls from 2000 to 2008 before leaving for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

She has been with the Gamecocks since then and has done incredibly well. Staley has won a pair of national championships with the program, triumphing in 2017 and 2022. She holds a 610-186 career record and dominates against the top teams as she has a 42-15 record in the NCAA Tournament, including six Final Four appearances and two championships.

It will be interesting to see if she can get her name into the history books as the coach of an undefeated national champion this year with the program entering the Final Four with a perfect 36-0 record.