‘It’s special’: Aja Wilson inducted into USC Athletics Hall of Fame
A’ja Wilson was with Dawn Staley when Wilson got the call she was going to be inducted into South Carolina’s Letterman’s Association Hall of Fame.
But Wilson nearly never got the call from USC athletic director Jeremiah Donati in the first place.
“She kept telling me to call the AD, call the AD and I never answer my phone, so she had to make sure. She was like ‘Please answer your phone.’,” Wilson recalled. “And I’m like, ‘okay, I know we’re going to Nike.’ I’m like, ‘Girl, I know the news.’ And she was just like, ‘No, it’s something else.’ I’m like, ‘What could it be? Like, I’ve got a statue.’”
Wilson was officially inducted on Thursday night alongside Natasha Hastings (women’s track), Brandon Hulko (men’s diving), Paul Jubb (men’s tennis), Akram Mahmoud (men’s swimming) and Mollie Patton (women’s soccer 2006-2010).
The hall of fame induction is just the latest example of the recognition Wilson has received from the University of South Carolina. She has a statue in her honor outside of Colonial Life Arena that was erected in 2021 and her jersey hung up in the rafters after it was retired in February.
“When you’re a Hall of Famer, no matter where you are, it’s special, and particularly here at the University of South Carolina,” Wilson said. “It’s truly been a long journey, but this city, this state, has [welcomed] me with wide open arms, and I’m just grateful to kind of be a Hall of Famer now.”
Wilson just wrapped up a phenomenal year on the court in the WNBA.
She won her fourth MVP award — something no one else in the history of the WNBA has accomplished — as well as her third Defensive Player of the Year award. Wilson was named to the All-WNBA First Team and All-WNBA Defense First Team and also brought home Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors from the Associated Press.
Earlier this month she won her third WNBA title with the Las Vegas Aces. Wilson captained the Aces to a 4-0 sweep of the Phoenix Mercury and was named the WNBA Finals MVP (for the second time in her career) after averaging 28.5 points and 11.8 rebounds.
Wilson is just 29 years old but has seemingly accomplished everything a basketball player could dream of. She’s won collegiate and professional championships, been named player of the year at South Carolina and in the WNBA, has two gold medals and even released a signature shoe with Nike. And now she’s a Hall of Famer at USC.
All that to say, what could possibly come next?
“I have no idea what’s next at this point,” Wilson said through a laugh.
Whatever’s left for Wilson to accomplish, she’s “greedy” and is ready to achieve it.
“I just want to continue to just put a footprint on my legacy and on just women’s basketball and what we stand for,” Wilson said. “Just having fun through that, doing it our way and my way, and not really shaking anything from that. But it’s been a fun journey, and I hope that everyone that’s watching it can see that it can get done your way, on your time. ... I don’t know what is left, but I’m greedy. I will go after it, always. I want more. So yeah, maybe that’s next is just more.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 7:11 PM with the headline "‘It’s special’: Aja Wilson inducted into USC Athletics Hall of Fame."
