COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the third consecutive season, Dawn Staley has been named SEC Coach of the Year as determined by voting from the league coaches. Staley is the first head coach to lead a program into the SEC Tournament with an undefeated record in multiple seasons.
The top-ranked Gamecocks are 29-0, 16-0 in the SEC as they gear up for their conference tournament opener on Friday at noon in Greenville at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
This the seventh time Staley has been named the league coach of the year, one behind Tennessee icon Pat Summitt for the SEC record.
Kamilla Cardoso was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, marking the fifth-straight season a Gamecock has earned that award and the seventh time in the last nine seasons. Cardoso was also named to the All-SEC First Team after earning second-team honors in 2023.
Cardoso is 13th in the nation with an SEC-best 2.7 blocks per game and is 21st in the country in field goal percentage at an SEC-best .581. She is 31st in the country in double-doubles (13) and 33rd in rebounds per game (10.0)
USC forward and Cardinal Newman graduate Ashlyn Watkins was named to the All-SEC Second Team along with guards Raven Johnson and Te-Hina Paopoa. W.J. Keenan product Milaysia Fulwiley was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Watkins ranks 11th in the SEC in rebounds per game at 7.2. Her 2.4 blocks per game are second in the SEC and 17th in the nation. She is fourth on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game, double her freshman year average, and she is shooting 58.9 percent from the field.
Fulwiley’s 11.6 points per game are second on the team and rank third among SEC freshmen this season while playing 10 minutes per game fewer than the two scorers ahead of her. She has led the team in scoring in eight games, including 19 double-digit scoring games among her 29 outings. She ranks 12th in the SEC with 1.8 steals per game, including 1.9 per league game, which ranks ninth. Fulwiley is second among SEC freshmen with 2.3 assists per game.