Cardoso, Staley Named Naismith Semifinalists

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball senior Kamilla Cardoso is one of 10 semifinalists for 2024 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s Player of the Year and head coach Dawn Staley is one of 10 semifinalists for 2024 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. She has won the award three of the last four seasons, including the last two.

Cardoso is the Gamecocks’ scorer (14.0 ppg) and rebounder (9.5 rpg), earning a spot on the All-SEC First Team and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Impacting the game on both ends of the floor, she leads the SEC and is 23^rd in the nation in player offensive rating (126.3) while ranking second in the SEC and ninth in the nation in player defensive rating (71.8). In more traditional stats, Cardoso is 12^th in the country in blocks per game (2.64), 20^th in field goal percentage (.584), 32^nd in double-doubles (13) and 44^th in rebounds per game. She has led the Gamecocks in scoring in a team-high 12 games and in rebounding in 16.

Staley, who is the two-time reigning Naismith Coach of the Year, has won the award three of the last four seasons. In 2023-24, she has led her young team to the No. 1 ranking in both polls for all but the preseason rankings and the program’s eighth SEC Regular-Season Championship and eighth SEC Tournament title. Her colleagues voted her SEC Coach of the Year for the seventh time this season, leaving her just one behind legendary Pat Summitt for the most selections in league history. Staley’s team has thrived this season because if each Gamecocks’ commitment to the team. With an offense ranked fourth in the nation at 86.1 points per game, just one Gamecock ranks among the nation’s top 250 individual scorers. South Carolina’s bench is second in the nation with 33.3 points per game and has out-scored its counterparts by 20.7 points per game this season.

The list of semifinalists for each award will be narrowed to four finalists announced on Mar. 25, and the Naismith Player and Coach of the Year will be announced on Apr. 3.

No. 1/1 South Carolina awaits the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field on Sun., Mar. 17.

Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on South Carolina women’s basketball.

2024 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Semifinalists
Jennie Baranczyk, Oklahoma
Lisa Bluder, Iowa
Kenny Brooks, Virginia Tech
Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga
Lindsay Gottlieb, Southern Cal
Felisha Legette-Jack, Syracuse
Kevin McGuff, Ohio State
Vic Schaefer, Texas
Dawn Staley, South Carolina
Tara VanDerveer, Stanford

2024 Naismith Trophy Women’s Player of the Year Semifinalists
Madison Booker, Texas
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Paige Bueckers, UConn
Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
Angel Reese, LSU
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
JuJu Watkins, Southern Cal