Madina Okot's coach advises against immediate move to Women's NBA
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Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 27.12.25. | 14:15
For the 21-year-old to remain at South Carolina, the team would have to appeal for a waiver that would grant an extra year of eligibility
Kenyan basketball sensation Madina Okot, currently with powerhouse University of South Carolina’s Gamecocks for the 2025-26 season, has been a subject of conversation on a possible move to the Women's NBA (WNBA).
However, her coach, Dawn Stanley, believes another year in college for the senior, who played two years of college basketball at Zetech University in Kenya before making her NCAA debut with Mississippi State last season, would make her a “definite” top-five pick in the WNBA Draft.
"We need Madina to be dominant,” Staley told the media last month, five games into the season. "We need dominance on her part every time she steps on the floor. And I think she’s just getting more and more comfortable.
And I think there’s just a little bit more structure out there, to where she knows where she needs to be. And she’s getting just more comfortable."
The Kenyan centre has continued to dominate since, leading the Gamecocks to a 12-1 run before the Christmas break, having won by at least 40 points in eight games this season.
The side closed out the year on Saturday, 20 December, with a 105-43 victory over Florida Gulf Coast. Okot finished with a new career-high of 27 points, adding 12 boards for her ninth double-double of the season.
Thirteen of her points came in the fourth quarter after finishing out the game on her own 7-0 run, with the first three of her career to cap scoring for the Gamecocks.
For the 21-year-old to remain at South Carolina, Gamecocks would have to appeal for a waiver that would grant an extra year of eligibility.
"Actually getting a waiver is the hard part. We’re gonna fight like heck,” Stanley said when asked if Okot could return next year. "It’s an interesting situation with her, but I think it’s worth fighting."
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