At the Dawn Staley Basketball Camp this week in Columbia, hundreds of young players competed, drilled, and hustled for a chance to stand out on the University of South Carolina’s hardwood. Among all of them — across all the age groups and divisions — one name captured something bigger than a basketball story. A 6th/7th grade camper named Reagan walked away with the Dawn Staley Award for her age group. Small in stature. Enormous in heart.
The Camp Itself: A Tradition Built on More Than Basketball
Dawn Staley’s camp has long been a uniquely personal operation. “This is by far my favorite camp because they listen,” Staley has said. “They’re funny. They respond — if there’s an injury, they respond a lot better, you just talk to them kind of talk them off a cliff and then they’re right back.”
The camp gives younger players a chance to break out of their shells. “It’s cool to watch very, very shy kids come in and they’re barely leaving their parents to now they’re leading drills in camp,” Staley noted. That transformation — from hesitant newcomer to confident competitor — is precisely the environment Reagan walked into this week. And she did more than show up. She won.
Reagan: Proving That Mighty Doesn’t Have a Size Requirement
Reagan’s story is one that goes well beyond basketball. She is deaf in her right ear and had not worn a hearing aid since 2021, when the device she was using produced excessive feedback noise that provided little benefit. Navigating middle school without adequate hearing assistance presented real challenges — but Reagan handled them with a composure that speaks to her character.
Recently, she made the decision to seek help. Her new hearing aids are discreet, barely noticeable, and are already making a meaningful difference. The timing of that decision — coinciding with a week at one of the most celebrated basketball camps in the South — feels almost symbolic. A young girl choosing to step forward, in more ways than one.
Earning the Dawn Staley Award in the 6th/7th grade division is no small feat. The award itself, at the collegiate level, is given to a player who exemplifies the qualities Dawn Staley possessed — ball handling, scoring, the ability to distribute the basketball, and the will to win. At the camp level, it carries that same spirit: recognizing the player who competes with everything she has, who leads by example, and who embodies the values Staley has built her program around.
Reagan, by all accounts, did exactly that.
Why This Moment Matters
There is a reason stories like Reagan’s resonate far beyond the gym. Here is a middle schooler navigating a hearing impairment, making a brave and mature decision to get help, and then going out and earning an award named after one of the most celebrated figures in the history of women’s basketball. She didn’t let a physical challenge define her ceiling. She competed, she excelled, and she was recognized for it.
Coach Staley’s camp has always been about more than basketball fundamentals. “We do fun stuff,” she has said. “I mean, obviously you got to keep their attention going, so a lot of games.” But the deeper mission — developing young women who believe in themselves, who push through obstacles, and who carry themselves with confidence — is exactly what Reagan demonstrated this week.
In a sport and a program built on the idea that toughness and heart matter as much as talent, Reagan’s story fits perfectly. She may be small. But she is, without question, mighty. ❤️🏀
