COLUMBIA — ESPN revealed Thursday that South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley will receive one of the highest honors at the 2024 ESPY Awards on July 11 (ABC, 8 p.m. ET).

Staley will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance and she is the first woman to receive the award alone since the inaugural award in 2007, when Kay Yow was honored.

Yow was a basketball coach at NC State who led the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament after breast cancer chemotherapy before she died in 2009.

Staley's sister, Tracey Underwood, and her friend and former assistant coach, Nikki McCray-Penson, were both diagnosed with cancer in the last several years.

"The award not only recognizes her resilience on the court and ongoing support for women’s sports and equality in the sports world, but also for her leadership in the fight against cancer," ESPN wrote in a press release.

Underwood was diagnosed with leukemia in 2020 and needed a bone-marrow transplant. July 7 marks the one-year anniversary of McCray-Penson's death after battling breast cancer.

"Their battles motivated Staley to take action and become a prominent advocate for cancer research. She partnered with an organization to mobilize potential donors – especially those in the Black community – to sign up on a bone-marrow registry, Be The Match; she advocated for patient care, research and resources; and she visited and supported those undergoing treatment. In her 24-year coaching career, Staley has tirelessly stood up for women in sports, speaking out regularly to ensure gender equality and diversity in sports, particularly basketball."

Winners include Dick Vitale, Jim Kelly, Craig Sager and Stuart Scott. The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, former NC State basketball coach and ESPN commentator.

On Wednesday, ESPN revealed the 2024 nominees and South Carolina women's basketball is nominated for the "Best Team" award, following the Gamecocks 38-0 season and national championship. Staley's former player A'ja Wilson is a two-time nominee as well.

Staley became the first Black coach in Division I basketball to go undefeated and win a championship, the first coach to have a solo cover on SLAM Magazine and was selected for Nike's Athlete Think Tank 3.0.

SC IN THE WNBA: Former South Carolina standouts A'ja Wilson, Kamilla Cardoso set to battle Thursday in WNBA

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina's Dawn Staley to receive 2024 Jimmy V Award at ESPYS