Former South Carolina player to coach Division I HBCU women's basketball team
Olivia Gaines, who played for Dawn Staley at South Carolina, will be the next head coach at NC Central — an HBCU in Durham, North Carolina.
Dawn Staley’s coaching tree just grew another branch in Division I women’s basketball. Olivia Gaines, who played two seasons for Staley at South Carolina, will be named the next head coach at North Carolina Central, a person with direct knowledge of the hire told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official announcement is expected within the next few days.
Gaines takes over the program at the HBCU in Durham, North Carolina, after spending two seasons at Division II Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina. She guided the Yellow Jackets to a 36-19 overall record and a 29-14 mark in conference play. In back-to-back seasons, Allen won 18 regular season games, setting a program record.
At Allen, Gaines also coached the SIAC Freshman of the Year, Eboni Clay. Gaines achieved success there despite being the only program in the conference competing without the complement of full scholarships. Gaines has previously been an assistant coach at Georgia Southern, and was also the head coach at Richard Bland College — a junior college in Petersburg, Virginia.
She led Richard Bland to a 29-3 record and an appearance in the NJCAA Division II national championship. She’s also been a high school head coach, the head coach at USC Salkehatchie, and had stops as an assistant in the NCAA Division II and III ranks. A native of Chester, South Carolina, Gaines played for Staley’s Gamecocks during key seasons when the program was building its foundation as a regular national title contender.