Fresh off her historic MVP season, A’ja Wilson is honored to be where it all began. The Gamecocks will retire the former South Carolina star’s jersey during the upcoming college season, the team said. announced Tuesday.
South Carolina will place Wilson’s No. 22 in the rafters during a ceremony on Feb. 2, or 2/2. The currently No. 1-ranked Gamecocks will host Auburn that day.
Wilson, who was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina (home of the University of South Carolina), was a key factor in building the Gamecocks’ dynasty. He helped lead South Carolina, and head coach Dawn Staley, to its first NCAA championship in 2017.
In 2018, during her senior year, Wilson swept all the major National Player of the Year awards after a monster season, averaging 22.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. She was a finalist for National Player of the Year during her sophomore and junior seasons, and was first-team All-SEC and All-American all four seasons.
Wilson still (rightly) owns 22 program records and is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,389 points, according to the Gamecocks. Press release.
In 2021, South Carolina honored Wilson with a statue outside the school’s Colonial Life Arena. The 11-foot bronze statue was unveiled on Martin Luther King Day, and Wilson honored the significance of both the statue and the day.
“Change does not happen overnight” Wilson said, “But you want to be a part of something that plants seeds so that, down the road, little black girls can come back here and look at that statue. And say, ‘Wow, that was her.’ But at the same time she was also in her community.'”
According to the school, Wilson’s jersey was selected for retirement by a committee of representatives from the school’s athletic department, the board of trustees and the USC Lettermen’s Association. There was a five-year waiting period that began at the end of the athlete’s final season.
