The University of South Carolina’s pipeline to professional basketball excellence is on full display once again. The WNBA announced Thursday that former Gamecocks A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston have both been named starters for the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game, scheduled for July 25 in Chicago at 8:30 p.m. on ABC. With Allisha Gray still very much in contention for a reserve selection, South Carolina could place three former players in the All-Star showcase — a testament to what Dawn Staley built in Columbia and what her players continue to build long after leaving it.
The Vote That Reflects Their Standing
Fan voting accounts for 50 percent of the All-Star selection process, with the remaining half split evenly between a media panel and current players. In last week’s second return of fan votes, Boston finished No. 1 overall and Wilson came in at No. 3 — meaning the two most recognizable former Gamecocks in the league are also among its most popular figures with the general public. That kind of fan engagement isn’t accidental; it’s the product of sustained excellence, national championship pedigree, and the kind of personalities that connect with audiences beyond the box score.
A’ja Wilson: The Standard of the Sport
If there is a more dominant player in women’s basketball right now — at any level — the argument is difficult to make. Wilson is in the midst of yet another historically elite season for the Las Vegas Aces, and this All-Star nod is her eighth career selection, a number that reflects a level of sustained excellence that defines generational talent.
She leads the entire WNBA in scoring at 25.7 points per game — just shy of the career-high 26.9 she posted in 2024 — while also averaging 9.4 rebounds per game and leading the league with 2.0 blocks per game. She has guided the Aces to a 14-5 record, positioning Las Vegas as one of the league’s premier teams. The four-time MVP is chasing a fifth MVP award this season, and her numbers suggest the conversation is entirely legitimate.
What makes Wilson’s continued dominance analytically remarkable is its consistency. She isn’t having a career year by accident or in response to a changed role — she is simply being A’ja Wilson, which at this point in her career means performing at a level the sport has rarely seen from any player, male or female, at the professional level.
Aliyah Boston: A Career-High Season in Every Sense
Boston’s All-Star selection is her fourth in as many professional seasons — a streak that tells the story of a player who arrived in the WNBA ready to contribute and has done nothing but improve. What makes 2026 stand out, however, is that Boston is putting together the best offensive season of her career.
She is averaging a career-high 17 points per game, a number that reflects genuine growth in her scoring profile since her rookie year. Her 8.6 rebounds per game lead the Indiana Fever and sit just shy of her career-best mark. She has also posted 1.3 blocks per game, adding a defensive dimension to her game that makes her one of the more complete frontcourt players in the league. Boston has helped guide Indiana to an 11-8 record — a Fever team that with Caitlin Clark’s presence has become one of the most watched in the WNBA — and her contributions have been central to that success.
Boston’s trajectory is worth examining closely. She entered the league as a skilled, fundamentally sound player, and she has systematically expanded her offensive repertoire each season. The career-high scoring average in Year 4 isn’t a fluke — it’s the result of deliberate development and the confidence that comes from knowing exactly what she can do at this level.
Allisha Gray: The Bubble Candidate With a Track Record
Gray wasn’t named an All-Star starter Thursday, but the door remains open for a fourth straight selection through the coaches’ reserve picks. The former Gamecock guard has made the All-Star team in each of the past three seasons since joining the Atlanta Dream, and her 2026 numbers are strikingly consistent with the performances that earned her those previous nods.
She is averaging 18.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game for Atlanta — a well-rounded stat line that reflects the kind of two-way impact that tends to resonate with coaches when they cast their reserve ballots. Gray’s fate will be determined by that coaching vote and the media panel, as her No. 14 ranking in fan voting places her outside the automatic starter consideration but squarely in reserve range if the selectors prioritize performance over popularity.
The fact that Gray has posted nearly identical numbers to her previous All-Star seasons and made the game each of those years makes her candidacy credible. Whether the selection committee sees it that way remains to be seen, but her case is built on a foundation of consistency rather than a single outlier season.
Dawn Staley’s Legacy, Playing Out in Real Time
What ties Wilson, Boston, and Gray together — beyond their All-Star caliber play — is where they came from. All three won national championships at South Carolina under Staley, who remains a close friend and mentor to each of them long after their college careers ended in Columbia. The program Staley built didn’t just produce talented players; it produced players who understand how to win, how to lead, and how to sustain elite performance over long professional careers.
Having two former players named All-Star starters in the same season — with a third realistically in contention — is the kind of professional pipeline result that programs spend decades trying to build. For South Carolina, it has become something closer to an expectation. And with the next generation of Gamecocks currently being recruited and developed under Staley’s watch, the cycle shows no signs of slowing down.
The 2026 WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago on July 25 will feature some of the best players the sport has ever produced. Two of them will be wearing the invisible thread of garnet and black — and possibly three.
