South Carolina WBB retiring A’ja Wilson’s jersey. Here are the details
A’ja Wilson, the most decorated player in South Carolina women’s basketball history, is getting her jersey retired.
The school announced it will retire Wilson’s No. 22 jersey on Sunday Feb. 2 before the Gamecocks’ home game against Auburn at Colonial Life Arena.
Fittingly, that game date’s reads as 2/2 on a calendar.
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley gave the news to Wilson posted on a social media video on Tuesday.
“It’s that time,” Staley said.
Wilson is the fifth South Carolina women’s basketball player to have her jersey retired. Guard Tiffany Mitchell (2012-16) had her jersey retired last year.
Wilson, who starred in high school at Heathwood Hall in Columbia, was the The program’s first four-time All-American and national player of the year (2018). She also led South Carolina to its first SEC Tournament championship (2015), first NCAA Final Four (2015) and first NCAA national championship (2017).
Wilson became the first player in league history to win SEC Player of the Year three times and to go undefeated in four years of playing in the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks won the SEC regular season three times in her four seasons.
In 2021, the school honored Wilson with a statue outside of Colonial Life Arena, where the Gamecocks play their home games.
She is just the second ever Gamecock athlete to have a statue built of them on campus, joining Heisman winner George Rogers, and the first woman.
“Even when President Pastides said it at graduation, it still didn’t seem real,” Wilson said at the statue ribbon cutting in 2021. “I was just like, OK, whatever, this is just a joke. ... When I actually saw the mold of it and I’m like, ‘Wow.’ When I saw coach (Dawn) Staley making the donations, I’m like, ‘Oh, this is really coming to life, like this is about to be real.’”
“And to finally see it out there and to cut the ribbon, I still can’t believe it.”
After USC, Wilson was No. 1 pick by the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA and has become one of the faces of women’s basketball. She won her third WNBA MVP this season and has led the Aces to two championships.
According to USC, retired jerseys are selected by a committee of representatives from the South Carolina athletic department, the university board of trustees and the USC Lettermen’s Association.
Factors for jersey retirement, per the school, include postseason, national and conference recognitions; holding school records; impact on team accomplishments; and either graduating from South Carolina or leaving the school in good academic standing. There is a five-year waiting period, which begins at the conclusion of the student-athlete’s final season of collegiate competition.
Wilson just recently became eligible under those guidelines. Her final season of college basketball ended in 2018, meaning she was eligible for consideration starting in spring 2023.
This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 12:30 PM.
