TAMPA, Fla. — South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley is in her seventh Final Four but compared to other women's basketball coaches, she still has a steep ladder to climb.
The No. 1 seed Gamecocks (34-3) face No. 1 seed Texas (35-5) on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN) in Amalie Arena in Tampa, where she reached her first Final Four with South Carolina 10 years ago.
This season marks five consecutive Final Fours. In 2017, she won the program's first national title and now South Carolina looks to defend its national championship from last season, where it finished 38-0. She also won in 2022.
Staley is No. 6 among women's college coaches for the most Final Four appearances but in order to become No. 1, she would have to make it at least 17 more to surpass UConn coach Geno Auriemma.
Where Dawn Staley ranks on all-time coaches list for Final Four appearances
Geno Auriemma, UConn (24)
Pat Summitt, Tennessee (18)
Tara VanDerveer, Stanford (15)
Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame (9)
Leon Barmore, Louisiana Tech (9)
Dawn Staley (7)
Jeff Walz, Louisville (4)
Gail Goestenkors, Duke (4)
C. Vivian Stringer, Rutgers/Iowa/Cheyney State (4)
Eleven coaches with three appearances
Which SEC women's basketball coach has the most Final Four appearances?
Staley is No. 1 in the SEC for active coaches with the most Final Four appearances. Between Baylor and LSU, where Kim Mulkey is now, Mulkey has four appearances. Vic Schaefer is coaching in his third Final Four but his first with Texas.
NCAA women's basketball coaches with the most championships
Geno Auriemma, 11
Pat Summitt, 8
Kim Mulkey, 4
Dawn Staley, 3
Tara VanDerveer, 3
Linda Sharp, 2
Muffet McGraw, 2
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
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley coach rankings: Final Four appearances, national titles
