Former Gamecocks WBB player lands ‘dream job’ at local college

A former South Carolina women’s basketball player has landed a head coaching job that’ll bring her within literal miles of her former college home.

Allen University, a Columbia-based Historically Black College and University, announced Monday it had hired Olivia Gaines, a former two-time SEC champion for the Gamecocks and coach Dawn Staley, as its next women’s basketball coach.

Gaines was mostly recently an assistant coach at Georgia Southern for the 2023-24 season and has previously worked as the head coach at Richard Bland College, a JUCO in Petersburg, Virginia that she led to a national runner-up finish, and USC Salkehatchie, an in-state JUCO in the southern part of the state.

Gaines replaces LaToya Jones, who spent one year as Allen’s head women’s basketball coach in 2023-24 after being hired in September 2023.

In a news release, Gaines said she was accepting her “dream job” at Allen, which competes in the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and was 12-15 (7-12 SIAC) last year.

“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 joy but prepared for the job.”

Staley expressed her excitement for Gaines in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday afternoon, writing: “IT’S UP!!! Congrats O! Can’t wait to see you win chips!!!! Allen you got a great one!!!”

Cox, Allen’s athletic director, said in the release that Gaines was a “perfect fit” for the position. A Chester, SC, native, Gaines started her career at Louisburg College in North Carolina before transferring to USC, where she was part of two SEC championship teams and South Carolina’s 2015 Final Four team under Staley.

Gaines appeared in 67 games and started three during her two seasons at South Carolina, with career averages of 1.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. Before joining the Gamecocks, Gaines was a JUCO All-American guard at Louisburg.

Gaines, who also worked as a high school head coach across the state of South Carolina, has had an immediate impact at her previous coaching stops. At USC Salkehatchie, she was Region 10 Coach of the Year and led the team to a 20-2 record in 2020-21.

And at Richard Bland College in Virginia, Gaines led a team in its inaugural season to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national championship game and a 29-3 overall record.

“I am delighted to welcome (Gaines) 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 achievements as a two-time SEC Champion and National Champion will undoubtedly inspire our young women to strive for excellence in the years to come.”

Gaines will now be coaching in the same city as Staley, her former coach who’s led USC to two national championships and tips off 2024 NCAA Tournament play this week at Colonial Life Arena, USC’s home court.

The Gamecocks are 32-0 and the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket and will play either No. 16 Sacred Heart or Presbyterian College on Friday (2 p.m., ESPN) pending the result of those two teams’ Wednesday play-in game. With a win, USC would play either 8 seed UNC or 9 seed Michigan State on Sunday.