South Carolina retires # 22 Jersey by A’Ja Wilson

Columbia, SC – reigning WNBA MVP a’ja Wilson stood at the Center Court of Colonial Life Arena on Sunday, her hand on her heart and her parents’ arms packed around her as they looked up to the rafters where a lone spotlight shone on her Collegial # 22 Jersey was revealed and officially retired by South Carolina.

Wilson shook gently as the tears rolled down her face.

According to the South Carolina Athletic Department policy, that does not mean that a jersey is retired. However, Gamecocks -Trainer Dawn Staley made it clear: No one in a South Carolina uniform will ever wear # 22 again.

“South Carolina shaped me, not only as an athlete but as a person,” Wilson said during the ceremony ahead of victory # 2 Gamecocks ’83 -66 against Auburn. “When I look in the rafters and see my jersey, I am reminded of how important it is to chase your dreams without fear.”

Résumé Wilson, who was built over his four years in South Carolina, is long and a staley considers incomparable. The program’s first four-time All-American and 2018 unanimous National Player of the Year, Wilson helped lead gamecocks to their first national title in 2017, its first woman’s final four in 2015, four SEC tournaments and three seconds regular season titles.

She became the first player in League History to win Sec Player of the Year three times.

Individually, the Wilson program is the leading leader with 2,389 points and 363 blocks.

“There is no one more deserves than this weekend with A’Ja,” Staley said on Saturday. “She legitimized our program. She took it to another level and we still feel her inherit Here, and that’s what Legacy is.

South Carolina demands a five-year wait before an athlete gets their jersey retired, which begins at the end of their last year at school.

Staley asked if they could shorten the timeframe for Wilson. While the answer was no, the university built a statue of her in 2021 – a plan they announced when Wilson was trained in 2018.

“It was almost a prelude today,” Staley said. “If we couldn’t pull her shirt back, what better way than put a statue out in front of.”

When Wilson’s statue was revealed, it was under the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, so fans were not allowed to participate. There was no ceremony and Wilson talked to journalists over zoom.

But for her Jersey retirement, there was a sold -out audience. The players had black warm -up shirts with No. 22 on the back. Wilson danced around the field after the ceremony and posed for photos with fans and the current Gamecocks team.

“I’m super blessed to be able to see my jersey being hung from the barriers in my home,” Wilson said on Saturday. “To be able to get everyone to come in and enjoy the moment, I can share the moment with everyone.”

Added Staley: “I don’t think it could happen at a more appropriate time when she was the best player in the world where she has the type of success she has had. She has given our program another platform.”

No. 1 Overall election in 2018, Wilson has won two WNBA titles with Las Vegas Aces and Three League MVP Awards – her latest was unanimous. She also won her second gold medal last summer at Paris -ol with Team USA.

Wilson, a resident of Hopkins, South Carolina, just outside Columbia, was Gamecocks’ first recruiter # 1.

Since his time at South Carolina, Gamecocks’ Women’s Basketball Program has moved on with two NCAA titles (2022, 2024), won 43 consecutive matches (ended in November 2024) and became the 10th team in the Division of the History to complete a Unfelvated season in 2023-24.

“I would never have imagined this,” Wilson said. “I came right here and would win and would be a sponge of it all. So to see the legacy, the life of this program and where it goes, I radiate.”