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Dayton's Grant, South Carolina's Staley named Naismith Coaches of the Year

Joe Robbins / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Dayton's Anthony Grant and South Carolina's Dawn Staley are the 2020 recipients of the Naismith Coach of the Year award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Thursday.

Both Grant and Staley are the first from their respective schools to claim the honor.

"Dawn and Anthony had remarkable coaching efforts, which was evident in how their teams performed throughout the entire regular season, culminating with a conference championship and top-tier national ranking," said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club, in a statement. "We're honored to have Dawn and Anthony join a long history of impressive coaches who have been named the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year."

Grant led Dayton to a 29-2 overall record - including an undefeated run in A-10 play. The Flyers also matched a program record by finishing third in the final AP poll of the season.

Meanwhile, Staley guided South Carolina to a 32-1 record and their fifth SEC regular-season championship during her tenure. The Gamecocks won their final 26 games of the 2019-20 campaign and retained the top spot in the AP poll for the final 10 weeks of the season.

Grant and Staley also recently took home the AP's top coaching honors.

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