With a small, pink baby shark resting between a pair of basketballs and sitting on a white shelf, Olivia Gaines is finally getting comfortable in her North Carolina Central office. A large white binder overflowing with pages sits on her desk.
Yet, just because she’s settled doesn’t mean she’s necessarily relaxed. Gaines, the recently-hired head coach of North Carolina Central, is sprinting faster than Allyson Felix in recruiting and signing players, meeting people across campus, talking with returning players and attending fish fry events in the community.
“Everything has been coming extremely fast,” Gaines said to The IX Basketball during a Zoom call. “We just actually had a kid on the official visit. My whole thing is just building relationships, getting to know people and the community, showing up, and just letting people know what we’re going to be about. I know everything takes time, but again, I don’t want to take too long to win basketball games. So, yeah, I’m working and grinding.”
Gaines is excited to bring her winning ways from Division II Allen University, where she won 36 games in two years, to North Carolina Central. With a reputation for building successful programs and developing well-rounded student athletes, Gaines enters her first Division I coaching job as a rising star in the coaching profession and a disciple of Dawn Staley, having played for the Gamecocks from 2012-14.
She understands success and what it takes to construct championship standards. Her blueprint for success includes the time-honored foundation of relationships.
“When I got recruited to South Carolina, it was never just about basketball, but she also made it more so about just getting to know me, getting to know my family, and that relationship went a long way, because I went on a lot of visits,” Gaines said about her time with Staley and in South Carolina. “I feel like once you get to know a kid and that kid knows you care about them, it makes a difference. That’s kind of how I go about it with my kids. Building those relationships and just showing my kids that I care.”
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Even now, and with all of South Carolina’s success as a program, Staley still makes time for Gaines. She reached out to congratulate Gaines on this opportunity. During her time coaching at Allen, Gaines shared that Staley was always there offering support or a donation behind the scenes.
Gaines traveled the scenic route to earn this opportunity, but it wasn’t undeserved. Wherever Gaines has coached, she has won. Before coming to Allen, Gaines was an assistant coach on the Division I level for one season at Georgia Southern.
A native of Chester, South Carolina, Gaines’ rise is rooted in the grind she experienced during her playing career before attending South Carolina. Her journey through the sport has included late nights watching film, driving vans, washing uniforms, sweeping floors and eating late-night meals at various Waffle Houses along the way.
“What I learned about myself is that I can do a little bit of everything, which I kind of already knew,” Gaines said. “I wore a lot of different hats. Being willing to take on any challenge and being able to help the athletic department in any way I can while being there for everybody goes a long way.”
She always believed this moment would occur because of her varied body of work. She’s always bet on herself.
Regardless of level, winning is winning. Gaines led Richard Bland College to 29 victories and an NJCAA national runner-up finish in the program’s first season, adding to a sparkling JuCo resume that already included a 20–2 campaign and an NJCAA Region 10 championship at USC Salkehatchie, where she was named Region 10 Coach of the Year.
She earned those opportunities the long way — through assistant stops at Vassar and Northwestern Oklahoma State and head-coaching turns at Andrew Jackson, Fort Dorchester, and across high schools in South Carolina.
“I probably took some jobs that people would never take,” Gaines said. “I’m not scared of challenges, right? Not whatsoever. So nothing is too hard for me. I don’t want handouts in life. I want to grind and get everything, that’s what I want to do.”
Now, she leads a program that finished fifth last year in the rugged Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and has seven returning players and five who were signed before her arrival. Gaines had room to add three players.
Within the MEAC, Howard’s Ty Grace and Norfolk State’s Jermaine Woods are the conference’s longest tenured head coaches. UMES’ Malikah Willis will be entering her third year, while Coppin State’s Darrell Mosley, South Carolina State’s Cedric Baker, and Morgan State’s Nadine Domond are heading into their second seasons. Gaines and Delaware State’s Khadijah Rushdan are this year’s newbies.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Gaines to the Eagle family,” said NCCU Director of Athletics Dr. Louis “Skip” Perkins in Gaines’ hiring release. “She is a proven winner at every level and has shown the ability to develop and nurture student-athletes while building successful teams. We believe Coach Gaines is the right person to elevate the program.”
Gaines’ myriad experiences have more than prepared her to lead the Eagles. She’s coached and played at every level possible, and winning is part of her DNA as a standout point guard and defensive specialist. Gaines’ Chester High School teams lost 12 games in four years, and Louisburg lost twice over two years.
A WBCA National Junior College Player of the Year, Gaines led Louisburg to the NJCAA Division II national title in 2013 and was a member of two Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship squads. Coaching wasn’t something Gaines aspired to do after earning her bachelor’s degree in sociology from South Carolina in 2015.
Still, it was her junior college coach, Brett Vana who saw something special in her.
“I absolutely fell in love with it,” Gaines said. “It’s a joy. I don’t think this is work. This is God’s calling, like this was I made for, and I thank God for the opportunity. I thank God for being here at Central; it really is a phenomenal place. God just keep working with me, right?”
The opportunity at the Durham, North Carolina, HBCU aligned with Gaines, who is now less than three hours from her hometown. When she’s not coaching, Gaines loves going to the movies, shopping, and spending time with her family. Expect Gaines to have her biggest fans with her as she unleashes her NCCU program on the MEAC.
Another allure of the position for her was an opportunity to learn from long-time men’s head basketball coach LeVelle Moton. Gaines also has one additional connection, as her cousin attended NCCU.
“When I got to campus, it was just amazing,” Gaines said. “The people here are phenomenal. I was talking to my mom the other night, and I’m like, it’s almost unreal how nice people are here, and you know, it’s just a great atmosphere, like Ms. Thomas, Dr. Perkins. They made me feel really comfortable. It wasn’t an interview; it was more of a conversation. So, I feel like I can be my authentic self.”
The Eagles will look different this season. Gaines acknowledged that returning players have had some nervous apprehension with learning a different style during meetings, but she assured them that things would work out. North Carolina Central’s offense last season went through the post, averaging 62.3 points per game, which ranked third in the MEAC.
The Eagles’ top returning player will be 5’8 senior guard Aysia Hinton, who ranked second in the conference in 3-pointer made and 3-pointers per game. Hinton made 12 3-pointers on Feb. 3 against William Peace University, an NCAA Division I single-game high and a program record.
Other experienced returnees for the Eagles include 6′ junior forward Dianna Blake and 5′ junior guard Victoria Morris, who each started double-digit games. Shakiria Foster, a 5’8 junior guard, played in the Eagles’ first 15 games last season. Expected to play bigger roles this season, including 5’6 sophomore guard Kendall Alexander, 6′ sophomore guard Aaliyah Grant, and 5’7 sophomore guard Amaya Harris.
“We like to score in transition, get out as quickly as possible, not a whole bunch of continuity offense, more so of quick hitters,” Gaines said. “Defensively, we’re going to play man-to-man, press, and have a way faster style of play. We’re going to take a lot of shots too, and that’s something we will emphasize and practice a lot. Getting up shots after practice will be important. So, the style of play, ball screen action, we’re getting into it.
“We’ve got to move without the basketball, so just getting back and then building some people’s confidence back so that you can get the best out of these kids,” she continued. “So, that’s the biggest thing. A lot of them didn’t play a lot last year, and maybe this year we might need a little bit more.”
The opportunity excites Gaines. She may be all moved in, but she won’t rest until she has the Eagles in the MEAC winners’ circle.
All Gaines has to do is look a few hours south for inspiration in building a program, because she was there at the start of South Carolina’s dominant rise, which has won three national championships in the last decade and appeared in six straight Final Fours.
“Coach Staley already had goals and the vision of getting the right pieces,” Gaines said. “I think that’s what’s really important. Sometimes it takes time. What she was able to build is phenomenal. I was looking at her roster the other day, I’m like, she got at least, about five or six players who can dunk.”
Gaines may not have any dunkers, but she has plenty of shooters and enthusiasm, which she believes will help North Carolina Central make plenty of noise.
Coppin State welcomes another SEC opponent
In recent years, Coppin State has quickly gained a reputation for hosting Southeastern Conference (SEC) programs that have won national championships. Coppin State will host eight-time national champion Tennessee on Thursday, Nov. 5 in the Physical Education Complex.
This will be the fourth time in six years that Coppin State is hosting a program that won a national championship and the sixth consecutive season welcoming a Power Four opponent to Baltimore. Coppin State has hosted Maryland (2021-22), Pittsburgh (2022-23), LSU (2023-24), Arizona State (2024-25), and South Carolina (2025-26) in the five straight seasons, a remarkable accomplishment to have signature programs that have impacted women’s college basketball visit a HBCU.
“We are excited for the opportunity to host an established program such as Tennessee,” Mosley said. “We were in talks of us returning back to them for yet another game when I mentioned y’all have several players from this area and let’s start a home-and-home at Coppin State.”
Tennessee beat Coppin State last year in Knoxville. Now, this becomes a two-for-one deal for Coppin State, which is expected to travel to Tennessee next season.
By now, everybody is aware of the quick roster construction for Tennessee women’s basketball head coach, Kim Caldwell, who welcomes 13 transfers into her program this upcoming season as the Vols look to return to their rightful place among America’s elite women’s basketball programs.
Among Caldwell’s 13 transfers, Zhen Craft (Waldorf) and Kennedy Faunterloy (Upper Marlboro) are from Maryland and Kaylene Smikle played at Maryland the last two seasons. Rylie Theuerkauf is from New Jersey, so playing a road game in Baltimore seemed like a terrific opportunity for the Vols.
“With them having players from Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, I knew it’d be a great opportunity to get them home,” Mosley said. “Also, a great opportunity to challenge my team early in the season while continuing to bring awareness and resources to HBCU women’s basketball and Coppin State.”
In an irony, Mosley coached Fauntleroy at Arizona State in his role as associate head coach of the Sun Devils.
Although all the HBCU schedules haven’t been released yet, Norfolk State will host Duke and Mississippi this season and North Carolina next year. Both Duke and Ole Miss are expected to be strong this season. Woods has aggressively scheduled home-and-homes with Power Four programs to guarantee opportunities for his program to host quality competition.
North Carolina played two straight road games in consecutive seasons at North Carolina A&T.
“I would like to express my gratitude to coach Banghart for her ongoing dedication to scheduling HBCU games on the road,” Woods said in a press release. “This provides our team with valuable opportunities to compete against top-tier opponents at home, significantly enhancing our revenue prospects.”
Over the last three years, HBCU programs hosting Power Four programs has happened with consistency because of the intentional efforts of many of the coaches in aggressively scheduling games. It also helped that many Power Four head coaches recognize and appreciate the benefit of playing a true road game at an HBCU and providing a different experience for their student-athletes.
HBCU All-Star Dream Classic
For the third consecutive year, the annual HBCU All-Star Dream Classic will be held on the historic hallowed grounds of Rucker Park in Harlem, New York. The game will take place on Saturday, August 8. Women’s student-athletes will represent the CIAA, MEAC, SIAC, SWAC, Gulf Coast, NAIA and independent HBCU conferences.
Among some of the talent expected to represent the MEAC include Paris McBride and Khila Diggins (Coppin State), Nevaeh Reaves (Delaware State), Nile Miller (Howard), Jala Bannerman (Morgan State), Aniya Finger (North Carolina Central), Carmen Kweti (Norfolk State) and Brianna Barnes (Maryland-Eastern Shore).
Among the SWAC talent scheduled to compete according to event organizers are Nakia Cheatham and Kiarra Henderson (Alcorn State), Jaylia Reed (Southern), Daeja Holmes (Texas Southern). The Alabama A&M triumvirate of Kalia Walker, Coriah Beck and Rakiyah Beal are also expected to play. Alabama A&M, Alcorn State, and Southern all competed in the postseason.
Once again, the experience will be the merging of HBCU sports, education and traditions with Urban Streetball Culture. Coaches, G-Leagues, European Leagues and sports agents will be in attendance.
FAMU’S Ahriahna Grizzle is down under
Florida A&M graduate Ahriahna Grizzle, the 2024 SWAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, recently signed a contract to play for Wyndham Basketball in Melbourne, Australia. Back in 2024, Grizzle opened up to The IX Basketball about her career and journey.
Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Grizzle, a BOXTOROW HBCU All-American First Team following her senior year for the Rattlers, scored 536 points and was the sixth Rattler in program history to score 500+ points in a season. A 5’9 guard who started her career at Alabama, Grizzle is a dynamic playmaker and pleasant package of energy and electricity.
Grizzle also led the SWAC in 3-point field goal percentage (.356), 20+ point games (13), and 30+ point games (3). Grizzle also finished ranked second in steals (67), third in field goal percentage (.426), seventh in assists (84), and 25th in rebounds (103).
