South-Carolina
South Carolina’s Dawn Staley to receive Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at 2024 ESPYS
Watch: Dawn Staley accepts fourth Naismith Coach of the Year Award
Dawn Staley accepted her fourth straight Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Award on Wednesday in Cleveland.
COLUMBIA — ESPN revealed Thursday that South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley will receive one of the highest honors at the 2024 ESPY Awards on July 11 (ABC, 8 p.m. ET).
Staley will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance and she is the first woman to receive the award alone since the inaugural award in 2007, when Kay Yow was honored.
Yow was a basketball coach at NC State who led the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament after breast cancer chemotherapy before she died in 2009.
Staley’s sister, Tracey Underwood, and her friend and former assistant coach, Nikki McCray-Penson, were both diagnosed with cancer in the last several years.
“The award not only recognizes her resilience on the court and ongoing support for women’s sports and equality in the sports world, but also for her leadership in the fight against cancer,” ESPN wrote in a press release.
Underwood was diagnosed with leukemia in 2020 and needed a bone-marrow transplant. July 7 marks the one-year anniversary of McCray-Penson’s death after battling breast cancer.
“Their battles motivated Staley to take action and become a prominent advocate for cancer research. She partnered with an organization to mobilize potential donors – especially those in the Black community – to sign up on a bone-marrow registry, Be The Match; she advocated for patient care, research and resources; and she visited and supported those undergoing treatment. In her 24-year coaching career, Staley has tirelessly stood up for women in sports, speaking out regularly to ensure gender equality and diversity in sports, particularly basketball.”
Winners include Dick Vitale, Jim Kelly, Craig Sager and Stuart Scott. The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, former NC State basketball coach and ESPN commentator.
On Wednesday, ESPN revealed the 2024 nominees and South Carolina women’s basketball is nominated for the “Best Team” award, following the Gamecocks 38-0 season and national championship. Staley’s former player A’ja Wilson is a two-time nominee as well.
Staley became the first Black coach in Division I basketball to go undefeated and win a championship, the first coach to have a solo cover on SLAM Magazine and was selected for Nike’s Athlete Think Tank 3.0.
SC IN THE WNBA: Former South Carolina standouts A’ja Wilson, Kamilla Cardoso set to battle Thursday in WNBA
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
Columbia, Mo. — The South Carolina softball team (25-21, 4-13) dropped the second game of its series at Missouri (24-23, 7-10) 5-0 Saturday night (Apr. 18).
Kai Byars led the Gamecocks with a pair of doubles on the night. It was her second multi-hit game of the season and her first game with multiple extra base hits.
The Tigers scored a run in the third inning without the aid of a hit. They would extend the lead and add four more in the fourth.
Carolina’s best opportunity for a run came in third. Byars doubled to lead off the inning and Shae Anderson followed with a bunt single. A double play on a potential sacrifice fly ended the rally.
Emma Friedel (8-4) took the loss, allowing one run on no hits in 3 1-3 innings. She struck out six and walked three.
The rubber game of the series will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET.
Audi Crooks on being in the transfer portal
USAT’s Sam Cardona-Norberg catches up with college basketball star Audi Crooks, who is still looking for her next team.
Sports Seriously
Jordan Lee entered the transfer portal after a breakout season at Texas and the junior guard isn’t going too far. She’s staying in the Southeastern Conference.
Lee announced on Instagram Friday that she’s transferring to South Carolina to play for Dawn Staley after spending the first two years of her collegiate career at Texas under Vic Schaefer. Lee captioned her Instagram post, which featured a video montage of her visit to Columbia, South Carolina, “Feeling cocky.”
Lee was one of four players from Texas to enter the transfer portal after the Longhorns’ second consecutive trip to the Final Four ended in a devastating loss to UCLA. She was named to the All-Region team in the Fort Worth 3 bracket in this year’s NCAA Tournament following her Sweet 16 and Elite Eight performance, where she recorded 22 points, six assists, three rebounds and four steals while also providing strong defense.
After being limited to five starts her freshman year, Lee slid into the starting lineup last season and started a career-high 38 games. She also averaged career highs in points (13.2), assists (2.5), rebounds (2.5), steals (1.5), field-goal percentage (42%) and free-throw percentage (75%), while shooting 34% from 3-point range.
Texas’ Aaliyah Crump, Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Moore also entered the transfer portal. On Friday, Crump announced she’s transferring to Duke, citing her connection with head coach Kara Lawson.
“For me, choosing Duke University goes far beyond one sentence. The moment I connected with Kara Lawson and her coaching staff, I knew I was exactly where I belonged,” said Crump, who averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game her freshman season at Texas.
Crump continued: “Their dedication and vision for the program is truly special, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. The connection Coach Lawson and I have built is one of a kind, and I fully trust in her plan for the success of this program. I can’t wait to be coached by genuine people who support my growth not only as a basketball player, but as a person as well.”
Three-time All-American Madison Booker and junior starting forward Breya Cunningham are expected to return to Texas.
Contributing: Mitchell Northam
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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Each offseason, the NFL shakes up the landscape with free agency, as some of the top names at each position move around the league to new teams. The New Orleans Saints have fallen victim to this in 2026 so far, with Demario Davis and Alontae Taylor both moving on, and Cameron Jordan not having re-signed as of yet. Cornerback was a position that could already use a talent influx alongside Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley; now, it is even more of an issue.
Adding a new defensive back to fill the STAR role for the defense is certainly going to be a focus this spring, and that has been clear from the Saints’ pre-draft meetings. Recently, they added another name to the growing list; this time, it was South Carolina prospect Jalon Kilgore.
There is a lot to like about Kilgore, especially in that nickel or STAR role long term. He is enormously athletic and absolutely rapid both in straight-line testing and on the field. He got a decent chunk of his collegiate snaps at slot corner, 1,382 to be exact, but also had 541 in the box, 238 at free safety, 53 along the defensive line, and 24 as an outside corner.
His coverage metrics in 2025 were very solid, as on 65 targets, he allowed 34 receptions (52.3%) for 390 yards and 2 touchdowns. He picked up 2 interceptions, 10 pass deflections, 54 total tackles, and 2 fumble recoveries in 694 total snaps this season. Throughout the combine, he ended up performing well in pretty much every drill, which bodes well for his ability to translate to the NFL. If the Saints are looking to add someone with slot experience already, Kilgore may be one of the best options available.
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