Gamecocks HC Dawn Staley gives Joni Taylor the biggest “bouquet of flowers” after Texas A&M HC receives a valuable honor

Joni Taylor is the 2026 recipient of the Kay Yow Heart of a Coach Award. The Texas A&M women’s basketball coach received the award after a unanimous vote from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley took to X to give Taylor her flowers.

“@CoachJoniTaylor, there’s not a big enough bouquet of flowers to celebrate you for who you are and what you represent to us! Congrats! Congrats! Congrats! Much deserved!” Staley wrote.

Joni Taylor started her coaching career as an assistant at Troy. She took up the job shortly after graduating from Alabama, where she starred as a power forward and center.

Taylor had other stints as an assistant, namely with Louisiana Tech, Alabama, LSU and Georgia. She became the Georgia Bulldogs coach in April 2015. Taylor spent seven seasons in the role, posting winning records each year.

Taylor became the Texas A&M coach on March 23, 2022. She’s looking to guide the program to success in the uber-competitive SEC. The Aggies are currently 11-11 (4-9) in the 2025-26 season. They’re fresh off an 82-74 win against the No. 21-ranked Tennessee Vols, and their next game is against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Dawn Staley and Joni Taylor made history in 2021

History was made at the 2021 Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs. That game was the first time two Black women head coaches met in a Power Five conference tournament championship.

Dawn Staley coached the Gamecocks to a win over Joni Taylor’s Bulldogs. The duo embraced before and after the showdown.

“You can’t dream what you can’t see,” said Taylor after the game.

“So (the SEC title game) was a chance for people to dream something that they haven’t seen before.”

Taylor has since taken her talent to Texas A&M, while Staley remains South Carolina’s coach. The latter is vying for a winning season, while the latter is aiming for yet another national championship to add to an impressive haul.