Dawn Staley Reveals Reason Why Maddy McDaniel's South Carolina Suspension Ended
The South Carolina Gamecocks' 65-37 win over Clemson on November 11 wasn't the biggest story surrounding the team that day. Earlier in the afternoon, the team's social media account made an X post that read, "Maddy McDaniel will not be at tonight's game. She has been suspended."
This news came out of nowhere. While McDaniel (who is a sophomore guard) hadn't received much playing time to start the 2025-26 season, the fact that South Carolina is already short-handed because of the season-ending injuries to Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins made not having McDaniel available even more interesting.
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley only added to the intrigue after that November 11 game, when she said "I doubt it" when asked whether McDaniel would be back for the team's next game. Staley was then asked whether McDaniel would be back this season, and said, "That's on her. Evaluate it every day."
When Staley was asked if she'd like to share details on why McDaniel was suspended, she simply said, "No".
Dawn Staley Speaks on Maddy McDaniel's Suspension Getting Lifted
On November 10, the Gamecocks' social media account posted several photos from a recent practice, and fans were quick to note that McDaniel was back on the court. This convinced many that her suspension had already been lifted. And this was confirmed on November 23, as McDaniel was back on the Gamecocks' bench during their 121-49 win over Queens, playing 12 minutes and scoring 2 points in the big win.
Staley spoke with the media after Sunday's victory and addressed McDaniel's return to the team.
"Maddy is a great young lady. That's one. She is of great character. But some of the choices that you make have consequences," Staley said, per an X post from Matt Dowell of WACH Fox.
"It was more on Maddy, and how she's communicating with me, and our staff, and communicating with her teammates. Her teammates are the people that, are the ones that was her voice. And they had a more powerful voice when it comes to that. Obviously, they like Maddy; they like all their teammates. They want our entire team together. And they voiced that," she added.
Dawn Staley on Maddy McDaniel's return and the reason for the suspension being lifted:
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) November 23, 2025
"Maddy's a great young lady, that's one. She is of great character. But some of the choices that you make have consequences."
Full answer below.@GamecockWBB | @wachfox pic.twitter.com/F2g5ssBwpl
Staley still hasn't noted why McDaniel was suspended in the first place, and there's a good chance that that information will never be made public. But South Carolina fans will be glad to have McDaniel back on the court for the foreseeable future.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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