Former Gamecock Olivia Gaines moves up in coaching world after unexpected departure
It’s been just over a month since Olivia Gaines was introduced as the head women’s basketball coach at North Carolina Central.
In that short time span, the former Gamecock has been moving at light speed to get up to NCCU’s campus in Durham while also trying to learn everything she can about her new program on the fly.
“It’s been chaotic, but it’s been really, really good,” Gaines told The State. “I actually just got into the office last Monday. ... These kids I didn’t sign, so now it’s about building relationships with kids, just trying to get to know them on a personal level, basketball level. Watching a lot of film. I’m just trying to figure out pretty much the best pieces I can bring in to help us be successful. So it’s been a grind, even the grind away from home. It’s almost like working during COVID.”
N.C. Central announced Gaines as its next head coach on May 8. The hire came nearly two months after the Eagles fired Terrence Baxter and news broke that Gaines was available for hire. Gaines previously was the head coach at Allen University, a Division-II HBCU in Columbia.
Gaines takes over a program that’s struggled since its move to Division I in 2008. N.C. Central has recorded a winning record just once in the last 18 seasons.
Gaines is no stranger to success and believes she can get the Eagles back on the winning track. She played under Dawn Staley at USC, put together a 49-5 record as head coach at Richard Bland College and USC Salkehatchie (D-III), and had 36 wins at Allen.
“I think winners win through and through. So I’m going to figure out a way,” Gaines said.
How Gaines went from Allen to NC Central
Gaines put together a successful two-year stint at Allen, but it came to a rather unceremonious close.
The Yellow Jackets went 18-13 in Gaines’ first year as head coach in the 2024-25 season and set records in the program’s Division-II history for overall wins (18) and conference wins (13). Under Gaines’ leadership, Allen also produced the program’s first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Gaines led Allen to an 18-10 (16-8 SIAC) record this past season, bringing her to 36 wins in two years with the program.
Despite the success, Allen relieved Gaines of her duties as head coach two weeks after the end of the season. The university never publicized the coaching change on its athletics website or social media channels. And there wasn’t an announcement about Gaines’ replacement, Kevin Herod, being hired.
Allen said it was “grateful” for Gaines’ contributions “but has decided to move in a different direction,” in an email WIS-TV obtained in March.
Asked to shed some light on what seemed like a surprising firing, Gaines paused for a second to find “better words” before telling The State it was ultimately an “administration change” that led to her no longer being at Allen.
“I had three different athletic directors at Allen and this time around just didn’t mesh,” Gaines said. “We just decided to part ways, if that makes sense.”
Gaines says she wasn’t surprised by the decision and that she didn’t leave Allen with a bad taste in her mouth. That’s largely because of the success she had, plus Gaines feels her new gig with NCCU is meant to be.
It’s also not every day you’re let go and wind up in a better situation.
“I’ll remember winning,” Gaines said of her time at Allen. “I think you want to always take the good and just go with that. Everything I touch, I want to leave it in the next person’s hands even better. So, I think I’ve definitely done that. I think it should set up for them to be successful moving forward. I’m always wishing every program that I’ve touched the best of luck.”
In the days after, Gaines said the “appetite was definitely there” from other schools who were interested in hiring her. She told The State she had conversations about assistant and head coaching jobs at the NAIA, Division-II and Division-I level.
N.C. Central’s culture, and the allure of her first head coaching gig at the D-I level, made the opportunity too hard to pass up for Gaines.
A matchup with Staley and the Gamecocks in the future?
The 2026-27 season is still several months away, but Gaines is rearing to get her tenure started at N.C. Central.
Gaines inherits seven players (and adds five newcomers) to a team that went 9-20 last year and has struggled mightily recently. N.C. Central has finished with a winning season just once since 2008. It’s only won double-digit games six times in the program’s D-I history, the latest being 16 wins in the 2023-24 season.
“It might be difficult, but I’m also used to difficult challenges. I think, years to come, we will be successful,” Gaines said. “I have to stand on that. I’m big on manifesting. Twenty-win season? It’s not far-fetched whatsoever. Can it be done? Yes. I don’t want to take a long time to win basketball games.”
The first step to success will likely be solidifying N.C. Central as a contender in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The MEAC, often a one-big league in the NCAA Tournament, has been dominated by Norfolk State and Howard in recent years. The two schools have played each other in each of the last five MEAC Tournament championship games.
Meanwhile, N.C. Central has finished with a winning record in MEAC play just three times since joining the league in 2010. The Eagles have never won the MEAC Tournament and have yet to make an NCAA Tournament appearance.
“You’ve got to get the talent,” Gaines said of competing in the MEAC. “... And you want to get kids who want to be here at Central, that’s the biggest thing. But I know who the big dogs are. I’m a very humble person, but also I’m a winner.”
One of N.C. Central’s 20 losses last year was to none other than South Carolina in Colonial Life Arena. The two schools only had a contract for one game, according to documents obtained by The State last year, but don't be surprised if N.C. Central pops up on the schedule again in the future for the Gamecocks.
Gaines said she maintains a “great” relationship with Staley, who considers a mentor to this day, and said she could see a South Carolina vs. N.C. Central matchup happening.
“I really do. So, stay tuned,” Gaines said.
