Dawn Staley and the No. 1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks have advanced to the Sweet 16 in the 2026 NCAA women's basketball tournament, where they will face Jennie Baranczyk and the No. 4 seed Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday. South Carolina reached this point after taking down No. 16 seed Southern Jaguars in the first round, before defeating the No. 9 seed USC Trojans in the round of 32.
The Gamecocks have continued their incredible run under Staley during 2025-26 , posting a 31-3 regular-season record, along with 15-1 in SEC play. Now, they are eyeing a sixth-straight trip to the Final Four. South Carolina is led by sophomore forward Joyce Edwards, who earned All-American honors after averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
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Staley became the head coach of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team in 2008, leading the program to three national championships. During her first title run in 2017, assistant coach Fred Chmiel was on her staff. He spent eight seasons with the Gamecocks from 2015 to 2023 before accepting the head coaching job at Bowling Green following the 2022-23 season, where he has remained since.
Following Bowling Green’s 2025-26 season, the school launched the Women’s Basketball Enhancement Fund. Donations will help fund nutrition and training meal support, locker room and common area renovations, and charter flights for MAC games over four to five hours away. At the time of this article, $24,885 has been raised from 46 donors, including Staley.
And on Wednesday, ahead of South Carolina’s Sweet 16 game against Oklahoma, Staley took to social media to ask fans to support Chmiel and Bowling Green, hoping to increase donations.
"Former @GamecockWBB coach @CoachChmiel needs your help!" Staley wrote on X. "Please flood this page with any donation. Once a gamecock always a gamecock! Thank you!!"
Staley and South Carolina will face Oklahoma on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. ET, eyeing a return to the Elite 8.
