Winston Gandy, South Carolina assistant for Dawn Staley, lands head coach job
South Carolina women’s basketball assistant Winston Gandy has been hired as Grand Canyon’s new head coach, it was announced Monday.
Gandy joined Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks staff in April 2023 and won a national championship with South Carolina last year. Gandy replaced Fred Chmiel on staff when Chmiel took a head coaching job at Bowling Green State. This is Gandy’s first head coaching job at the collegiate level.
The news comes as South Carolina heads to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Gandy will be introduced at Grand Canyon at a Monday press conference and then return to Columbia to be with USC for the Sweet 16, his new school said in a news release.
“I’m beyond honored and absolutely thrilled to be the head coach at Grand Canyon University,” Gandy said in a statement. “GCU has a strong culture of excellence, and I’m ready to elevate the women’s basketball program even further.”
Gandy takes over for Molly Miller, who left Grand Canyon after five seasons to be the head coach at Arizona State. Miller’s tenure at Grand Canyon ended after she took it to the program’s first NCAA Tournament this season. The No. 13 seed Antelopes were eliminated in the first round of the tournament by No. 4 Baylor. GCU is located in Phoenix, Arizona and is a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
Grand Canyon in its news release described Gandy as “one of the most sought-after coaches in the country, a nationally renowned recruiter, an elite talent developer.”
Said GCU President Brian Mueller in Monday’s release release: “He is a highly sought-after star in the world of women’s college basketball. He has turned down numerous other opportunities, and he chose GCU.”
Staley has praised Gandy for his impact during his two-year tenure with the Gamecocks, including his role when South Carolina beat Iowa in the national championship game last season.
“I’m gonna tell you, Winston Gandy did a hell of a job on this scout,” Staley said in a postgame interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe minutes after South Carolina’s win. “A hell of a job. He lost a lot of sleep. We had very little prep time. He explained it in a way that our kids could lock in and execute. And they weren’t going to be denied.”
Prior to his time at South Carolina, Gandy was the associate head coach at Duke by the end of his tenure (2020-2023). He eventually earned the same role while an assistant at Rice (2017 to 2020). Gandy also had a stint with the Washington Wizards in a player development role from 2015 to 2017 and was director of recruiting at Maryland in 2013 and 2014.
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 11:33 AM.
