USBWA South Carolina News

Last season’s Oscar Robertson Trophy winner and the nation's leading scorer, three repeat selections, a pair of North Carolina teammates and four SEC stars headline the 2023-24 U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Men's All-America Team. The 15-man team includes a player from each of the NCAA Tournament’s four No. 1 seeds and six players who were their conference players of the year.

A pair of Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Year headline the 2023-24 USBWA Women's All-America Team. Iowa's Caitlin Clark, now a four-time All-American, and UConn's Paige Bueckers, earning her second honor, join LSU's three-time selection Angel Reese to bolster a power-packed six-woman first team. In all, 16 players were honored among three teams, in addition to five honorable mention selections.

For the fourth time in her career and for the third straight season, South Carolina's Dawn Staley has been named the Women's National Coach of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – For their performances in the period through Sunday, Jan. 28, this week's five Ann Meyers Drysdale national honorees are Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, the reigning national player of the year; South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso; Penn State guard Makenna Marisa; West Virginia guard JJ Quinerly; and Oklahoma forward Skylar Vann. The Tamika Catchings freshman award goes to Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo and the National Team of the Week is Oregon State.

For their performances in the past seven days, this week’s five Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week honorees are South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso, Gonzaga forward Yvonne Ejim, Texas guard Rori Harmon, Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon, and Maine guard Anne Simon. 

A new season is bringing a new and expanded look to the weekly women’s and men’s collegiate awards from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association in handing out five national Ann Meyers Drysdale weekly honors to the women and five Oscar Robertson honors on the men’s side. For their performances in the tumultuous week that ended Sunday, Nov. 12, the season’s first five Ann Meyers-Drysdale honorees are Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, the reigning USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale Award winner as the national player of the year; South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso; NC State guard Saniya Rivers; Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen; and Marquette forward Liza Karlen. The Tamika Catchings freshman honor goes to USC guard JuJu Watkins, while Colorado is the National Team of the Week.

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – Coaching her trademark shutdown defense with a roster that includes two All-Americans, South Carolina's Dawn Staley is the USBWA National Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and third time in four seasons. Staley led the Gamecocks (34-0) to the SEC regular-season and tournament titles as they went the entire season ranked in the top spot of the Associated Press poll, only the third program to ever accomplish it.

Eight returning All-Americans including the nation’s leading scorer and assists leaders and six conference players of the year headline the 2022-23 U.S. Basketball Writers Association Women's All-America Team. There are 13 different schools represented on the 15-player team that for the second consecutive season has top-ranked and overall No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed South Carolina and Stanford each earning claiming two selections.

For the season’s 12th and final weekly women’s awards from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, for games ending Sunday, Feb. 26, South Carolina guard Zia Cooke is the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week, Notre Dame guard KK Bransford is the Tamika Catchings freshman recipient, and Iowa is the National Team of the Week.

For the season’s tenth weekly women’s awards from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, for games ending Sunday, Feb. 12, Villanova forward Maddy Siegrist, the reigning Big East Player of the Year, and Virginia Tech guard Georgia Amoore, are co-players of the week, Maryland guard Bri McDaniel is the freshman recipient, and South Carolina is the National Team of the Week.

For the season’s ninth weekly women’s awards from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, for games ending Sunday, Feb. 5, South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston, the reigning USBWA national player of the year, and Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, a past honoree, share the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week honor, Washington guard Elle Ladine is the Tamika Catchings Award freshman recipient, and UNLV is the team of the week.

GG Jackson II ranks second among all freshmen in points scored per game this season and sixth in rebounds per game as he continues to produce like one of the best rookies in America. That continued this week in leading South Carolina to a 10-point win over former five-star recruit Emoni Bates and his Eastern Michigan team on Friday where he dropped a career-high 24 points and added nine rebounds.

In her third All-America season with a record-setting double-double streak and Southeastern Conference Player and Defensive Player of the Year accolades, South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston is the winner of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the National Player of the Year, as selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Dawn Staley, the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year who has her South Carolina team back in the Final Four for a second consecutive season and contending for the program's second national championship, is the USBWA National Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons. Staley has the SEC-champion Gamecocks (33-2) playing in their fourth Final Four this weekend, each of them under her leadership, following a national semifinal loss to eventual champion Stanford a year ago. In the 2019-20 season, Staley's Gamecocks were 32-1 before Covid forced the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament.

Seven repeat selections including four from the first team and three three-time members headline the 2021-22 U.S. Basketball Writers Association Women's All-America Team. There are 13 different schools represented on the 15-woman team with top-ranked and No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed South Carolina and Stanford each boasting two selections.