South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley hires new assistant coach

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley has hired a new assistant coach. Per an announcement from the University, Wendale Farrow will join the Gamecocks staff following the departure of Winston Gandy. Gandy took the head coaching job at Grand Canyon University. Assistant recruiting coordinator Chloe Rice also went with Gandy to Grand Canyon.

Farrow comes to Columbia after four years coaching with “the other USC,” the Southern Cal Trojans. Alongside head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, he helped return Southern Cal to its place among the nation’s elite programs. Before joining the Trojans, Farrow coached for five seasons at California. He also made stops at Vanderbilt, UCLA, Michigan, and Eastern Michigan.

A former player at American River College and Eastern Michigan, Farrow brings experience working with guards and wings to the Gamecocks. He is also regarded as a strong tactician with a high basketball IQ. Gandy was critical to South Carolina’s game planning efforts, and Farrow looks to be well-suited to fill that role, too.

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From the South Carolina Athletics release:

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley announced today that Wendale Farrow will join her staff as an assistant coach. Farrow brings 10 years of coaching experience in the Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC to the Gamecock sideline, including six NCAA Tournament appearances, highlighted by a pair of Elite Eight showings, a Big Ten Regular-Season Championship, a Pac-12 Tournament title and coaching eight WNBA Draft picks.

“We struck gold in bringing Wendale into our Gamecock family,” Staley said. “He is an accomplished young coach who has been part of every aspect of successful programs, and that journey has made him a seasoned, complete coach from Xs and Os to player development to recruiting to community service. We’re excited to see the huge impact he will make on our team and Columbia.”

Farrow joins South Carolina after four seasons at Southern Cal, during which the Trojans grabbed the 2025 Big Ten Regular-Season Championship and the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament title. They advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight and finished in the top five of the final AP Poll both seasons. Six Trojans were selected in the WNBA Draft during his four seasons in Los Angeles, including this year’s first-round selection Kiki Iriafen.

Farrow made the move to LA after coaching five seasons at Cal, including the first three with current Southern Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. The Bears made the NCAA Tournament behind 20-win seasons each of those first three seasons and saw a pair of Bears go in the WNBA Draft. Prior to heading to the West Coast, Farrow got his first assistant coaching experience in the SEC with Vanderbilt under Melanie Balcomb on the Commodores’ 2015-16 staff.

Following his own playing career, Farrow got his start in coaching as the video coordinator at UCLA for the 2013-14 season. During his two seasons with the Bruins he had other duties as well, serving as the scout team advisor, community service liaison and interim recruiting coach.

Farrow began his college playing career at American River (Calif.) Junior College before finishing his final two seasons at Eastern Michigan, where he earned Academic All-District honors. After graduation in 2009, he stayed on the staff as a graduate manager for two seasons before working as an academic mentor at the University of Michigan for the 2012-13 academic year as part of completing his master’s in educational leadership student affairs, earning that from EMU in 2013.

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

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