USC athletic director Jeremiah Donati praises Dawn Staley’s transfer portal work
Dawn Staley’s work in the transfer portal this month caught the attention of people all over the women’s basketball world, administrators included.
South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah said he had several colleagues contact him and praise Staley for her transfer portal work.
Staley and the Gamecocks retained every single non-graduating member of last year’s team and added ESPN’s No. 2 transfer in talented Texas guard Jordan Lee. USC also will bring in four freshmen this year, three of which are five-stars.
“Geez, it’s hard to imagine the portal season going for any coach, better than it did for Coach Staley,” Donati told local media Monday at the annual Gamecock Gala. “I had colleagues from all over the country reaching out to me saying, ‘Wow, that’s a super team.’
The Gamecocks will return nine players in the 2026-27 season. Of those players, seven played in a game last season. Notable stars from that group include All-American Joyce Edwards, All-SEC selection Tessa Johnson and a budding star in Agot Makeer.
South Carolina will also get back talented forwards Ashlyn Watkins and Chloe Kitts back from injury next season. Each one of those nine players has championship playing experience while three (Johnson, Kitts and Watkins) have championship winning experience.
“Not having any kids transfer out of the program in this day and age is almost unheard of. So just really, really proud of her [and] the team’s efforts to keep it rolling.”
All nine of those returners could have transferred and arguably started for any program in the country. Instead, they opted to stay in South Carolina and by doing that made the Gamecocks the lone SEC team to not lose a player to the transfer portal this year. South Carolina was one of 14 programs in the country to achieve that feat.
“It just says we love being here,” Kitts told reporters Monday. “We love Coach [Staley]. Everybody comes here because they want to get better, and win national championships and become pros, and that’s why everybody stayed.”
Staley having success is impressive but at the same time it’s nothing new. South Carolina has lost an average of just over one player to the transfer portal since its inception in 2018. This year marks the third time since the 2018-19 season (the first after the portal was created) that Staley hasn’t lost anyone to the portal.
