Dawn Staley's 6 straight Final Fours puts South Carolina coach in rare territory

[ASFN Admin]

South Carolina women's basketball is playing in a sixth consecutive Final Four game.

Coach Dawn Staley’s streak is now the second longest in women’s college basketball history, surpassing two coaches who she was previously tied with at five.

No. 1 seed South Carolina (35- 3) beat No. 3 seed TCU (32-6) 78–52 in the Elite Eight and now plays UConn (38-0), the No. 1 overall seed, on April 3 (7 p.m ET, ESPN) in Phoenix.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma still holds the record for the most consecutive Final Four appearances at 14 but here’s where this 2026 accomplishment puts Staley in comparison.

Where Dawn Staley’s Final Four streak ranks among coaches​

Auriemma took UConn to a record-setting 14 straight Final Fours from 2008-2022.

He also holds the record for most national championships among women’s coaches with 12.

Tara VanDerveer took Stanford to five Final Fours in a row from 2008-12 and Muffet McGraw brought Notre Dame to five straight from 2011-15.

Now that Staley has passed both, she has the second-most in women's college basketball history.

Late Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who won eight national championships, went to four Final Fours in a row.

Where Dawn Staley ranks among coaches with most NCAA women's basketball championships​

• Geno Auriemma, UConn (12)
• Pat Summitt, Tennessee (8)
• Kim Mulkey, Baylor and LSU (4)
• Dawn Staley, South Carolina (3)
• Tara VanDerveer, Stanford (3)
• Linda Sharp, Southern Cal (2)
• Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame (2)

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky‪@bylulukesin.bsky.social‬

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Where Dawn Staley’s 6 straight Final Fours ranks among college coaches

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