South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley: Gamecocks will 'fight like heck' for extra eligibility for Madina Okot

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley led the Gamecocks to a 51-point victory over the Winthrop Eagles on Wednesday. One of the stars of the USC win was post player Madina Okot.

Okot, who is in her first year with the Gamecocks after spending the 2024-2025 season at Mississippi State, logged another double-double, her third for USC in five games. She scored 23 points in an uber-efficient 10-for-12 effort from the field and pulled down 11 rebounds. She also registered three blocked shots and dished out three assists.

After the game, Staley talked up her starting 5, saying that she “was cleaning up a lot of stuff” for the Gamecocks. To that point, of her 11 rebounds, six came on the offensive end.

The Gamecock head coach also said that Okot is becoming “more comfortable” and is getting closer to the point of dominance that the USC coaching staff envisions for her.

As good as she has already been (Okot is averaging 13.2 points on nearly 60% shooting, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks), Staley is hopeful that the senior could be back in garnet and black again next year if she so chooses.

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Before the 2025-2026 season, Okot had only played one year in the NCAA, her lone season at Mississippi State. The previous two years, she played at Zetech University in Nairobi, Kenya. In the modern era of the NCAA, one in which some (American) junior college or Division-II seasons are not counting against player eligibility, it stands to reason that Okot could have an argument to play beyond this year. Staley says that the Gamecocks are going to battle for her to have that opportunity.

“We’re gonna fight like heck,” Staley said. “I mean, it’s an interesting situation with her, but I think it’s worth fighting. If she can get another year back, definitely, for me, [she’s] a top-five pick (in the WNBA Draft).”

Whether Staley meant that Okot is a top-five talent right now or that she would become one with an additional year of collegiate basketball was unclear. However, neither is that big of a stretch. Some WNBA Draft projections for next summer already include her as a first-round pick.

Staley also knows a thing or two about post players becoming top-five picks. A’ja Wilson (No. 1), Aliyah Boston (No. 1), Alaina Coates (No. 2), and Kamilla Cardoso (No. 3) have all left South Carolina to become top-five picks.

If granted an extra year of eligibility, Okot certainly will have a draft decision to make. However, she won’t be alone among Gamecocks in that regard. Injured forward Chloe Kitts is draft-eligible but could return to school thanks to a medical redshirt. Ashlyn Watkins, who is also out for the year with a knee injury, isn’t with the team at this time. Similarly, she is draft-eligible but has another year available to her.

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