South Carolina head women's basketball coach Dawn Staley took time to shout out her former player, Olivia Gaines, for landing a coaching job at Allen University. Gaines played for Staley at South Carolina nearly a decade ago, and now she'll follow in her coach's footsteps by taking charge of Allen University's women's basketball team.
“Olivia Gaines has built a resume that would allow her to coach anywhere in the country,” Staley said. “Her choice to come back to South Carolina and Allen University makes this a special union. I'm excited to see her back in Columbia, and I can't wait to see her program thrive.”
Staley eluded to it in her quote, but Allen and South Carolina are extremely close to each other. The campuses rest within a 10 minute drive in Columbia, South Carolina. The proximity to her old stomping grounds is part of the reason why Olivia Gaines accepted her new role.
“Allen has been a dream job for a long time, and I am looking forward to continuing my career in my home state,” Gaines said. “I would like to thank our Director of Athletics Jasher Cox and President Dr. McNealy for believing in me as they are leading Allen University in the right direction. The culture is there but winning consistently has been the missing piece and that will soon change. I am overwhelmed with job but prepared for the job.”
With Gaines at the helm, the Yellowjackets seek to rebuild a future SIAC Championship contender. Last season, Allen finished with a 12-15 record and underperformed in the conference, going 7-12. They hit a particularly rough patch towards the start of the season, losing seven straight games spanning from the beginning of December through January.
Even worse, all of those losses came against teams in the SIAC, further tanking their conference record. Allen picked up their play towards the end of the season, however, winning six of their last seven games and going on a five-game winning streak. Despite their strong finish, the Yellowjackets fell to Tuskegee in the opening round of the SIAC Tournament, 68-53.
Before accepting the head coaching responsibilities at Allen, Olivia Gaines was an assistant coach at Livingstone. She has also been a head coach at Richard Bland College and USC Salkhehatchie. In college, she drew the attention of larger women's basketball programs by leading Louisburg (NC) to a junior college national championship. She then transferred to South Carolina, helping them to an SEC regular season title in 2014. The next season, the Gamecocks won the SEC Tournament and made the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament.
Gaines' extensive resume certainly intrigued Allen and its athletic director Jasher Cox.
“Coach Gaines is the perfect match for our university, its student-athletes, and I am delighted to welcome her back to Columbia,” Cox said. “We were highly impressed by her success in revitalizing programs at previous institutions and her consistent ability to recruit and nurture exceptional talent. Additionally, her remarkable achievement as a two-time SEC Champion and National Champion will undoubtedly inspire our young women to strive for excellence in the years to come.”