Dawn Staley Sends Strong Message About Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Ceiling

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley shared a strong sentiment about Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.

University of South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley answers a question by moderator Dan Hughes during the University of Mount Union's Schooler Lecture speaker series on April 23, 2025, in Alliance, Ohio. University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley answers a question by moderator Dan Hughes during the University of Mount Union’s Schooler Lecture speaker series on April 23, 2025, in Alliance, Ohio. / Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

During a June 3 appearance on the Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay podcast, South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley sent a strong message about the aftermath of her team’s 2023 NCAA Tournament loss to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

“The year before we won [in 2024], we lost to Iowa in the semifinals, and that one hurt me really bad,” Staley said.

She was then asked whether that loss to Iowa in the 2023 Final Four was the toughest loss of her coaching career.

“Yes. Yes. Not for me, but for my players,” Staley responded. “We had a great team! They did all the right things. Great people, great competitors, so I wanted them to win… and when that didn’t happen, they were hurt. And that hurt me. That hurt me to my core.”

Of course, Staley is also well aware that she lost to a great team that year, largely because they had generational talent Caitlin Clark at point guard.

Clark entered the WNBA in 2024 and has since asserted herself as one of the league’s greatest players. And during a June 5 interview with Sports Illustrated, Staley got honest about Clark’s ceiling in professional basketball.

“Caitlin will go down as probably one of the best players to ever grace the league. And she’s going to probably do it in half of the time that it takes any other great player,” Staley said.

“When you’re able to shoot the ball as well as she does, I think her passing ability, her court vision is second to none. Her ability to deliver the basketball makes her a triple threat…. She’s a big guard.”

Staley later added, “I think the fact that they surrounded her with such great talent, a triple-double is going to be a normal thing for Caitlin.”

Staley can clearly appreciate good basketball, and that 2023 loss against Clark hasn’t taken away from her ability to appreciate what No. 22 is accomplishing on the court.