Winston Gandy’s time with the South Carolina Gamecocks is coming to a close.
The USC assistant coach, who joined the program in April 2023, has accepted the head coaching role for the Grand Canyon University women’s basketball team, officially announced on March 24. He will remain with South Carolina through the end of their postseason run, making Sunday’s NCAA championship game against UConn his final appearance on the Gamecocks’ bench.
Head coach Dawn Staley praised Gandy’s impact and expressed her happiness for his next step, though she admitted the team knew his stay would be short-lived.
“We knew he was on borrowed time when we got him,” Staley said ahead of the Sweet 16. “We were hoping for a little bit more time with him, but duty calls for him to be a head coach. Super happy. Couldn’t happen to a better person, a better coach.”
Gandy’s exit will leave a vacancy on Staley’s staff, which currently includes Lisa Boyer, Jolette Law, Mary Wooley, and Khadijah Sessions. There’s no set timeline for when the position will be filled, but some Gamecock players have shared their thoughts on what makes an ideal assistant.
Chloe Kitts highlighted Gandy’s ability to connect with players, noting that his youth (34 years old) allowed for a strong, personal rapport with the team.
“Winston’s definitely the youngest assistant on our staff … he gets to know us more and he can relate more because he is younger,” Kitts explained. “He’s just someone you can really go and talk to. So I think it would be nice — I’m sure Coach is going to fill the spot with someone maybe a little bit younger — just to keep that same relationship, to get personal. And obviously someone who can hold us accountable and knows what they’re doing.”
Raven Johnson, who may return next season, echoed that sentiment, saying a “young-minded” coach would fit the team’s dynamic well.
“Because we’re kind of a little crazy outside of basketball — we say some crazy stuff,” Johnson joked. “We’re also young adults. We voice our opinions on a lot of things. So having a coach like that that can listen, and be open-minded, and that could be on us when it’s time to be on us.”
Johnson also emphasized the importance of adaptability in the next hire, noting that different players respond to different coaching styles.
“You gotta just know how players are. Some players can’t take screaming (and) some players can’t take soft talk,” she said. “…You gotta be hard on players, getting them in the gym. It’s honestly the days that you don’t want to get in the gym that matters. I think Winston does a great job of that, because a lot of us don’t want to get in the gym. Sometimes we want to leave the gym and he’s like, ‘No, you can’t leave the gym until you get 100 makes in or until you get 100 free throws in.’ ”
As the Gamecocks prepare for the national title game, they do so knowing it will also mark the end of an era for a beloved coach. The next chapter begins not just for Winston Gandy, but also for a South Carolina program looking to continue its winning culture with the right people in place.
