Dawn Staley says South Carolina is working to bring players home from Israel

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley said Saturday that the university is working to bring three former women’s basketball players, including WNBA veteran Tiffany Mitchell, home from Israel as joint U.S. missile strikes against Iran continued.

Staley shared a message on X revealing that Mitchell, who played last season for the Seattle Storm, along with former Phoenix Mercury forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and former Team USA guard Destiny Littleton, were all in Israel at the time of the strikes.

“Please pray for our @GamecockWBB @TiffMitch25 @2121Mikiah @dstnylttltn24 who is in a war zone in Israel,” her post read.

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“We are working on a plan to get home. Let’s pray for our loved ones to return home safely as soon as possible! Thank you in advance.”

Neither the WNBA nor the University of South Carolina immediately responded to Pakinomist Digital’s request for comment.

Littleton, who played for the South Carolina Gamecocks from 2019-2022, posted a series of video updates on social media saying she was “safe.”

South Carolina guard Destiny Littleton (11) plays during a women’s basketball game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, on January 9, 2022. (John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“I’m going to the shelter now,” she said in a video. “Unfortunately, but these are the circumstances right now.”

Mitchell reshared Staley’s post on X with the praying hands emojis, but did not comment further. Herbert Harrison did the same.

Littleton currently plays for Hapoel Lev Jerusalem, a professional women’s basketball team in the Israeli Women’s Basketball Premier League. According to the team’s Facebook, she signed with the team in November. She previously played for Team USA basketball and won a gold medal at the 2017 FIBA ​​3×3 U18 World Cup.

Tiffany Mitchell (25) of the Seattle Storm moves the ball down the court against the Dallas Wings at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas on August 22, 2025. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Mitchell signed with the Storm in July after starting the 2025 season with the Las Vegas Aces. She has played several offseasons overseas, including a stint with the Russian Women’s Basketball Premier League. She last played with Hapoel Lev Jerusalem in the 2024-2025 season and even won the Israeli Women’s Basketball Premier League championship in 2019. It was not immediately known if she was currently playing for the team. She announced on her Instagram in November that she had signed with the Beijing Great Wall of the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association.

Herbert Harrigan was a first-round draft pick in the WNBA, being selected sixth overall in the 2020 WNBA draft. She has multiple stints throughout the league, and last played for the Mercury in 2024. She was later traded to the Dallas Wings before being waived last year. She currently plays in the Israeli Women’s Basketball Premier League for Elitzur Ramla.

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Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (21) of the Phoenix Mercury looks on against the Dallas Wings at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas on July 3, 2024. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

The US joined Israel in launching pre-emptive strikes against Iran on Saturday morning. In video comments sent to Truth Social, Trump encouraged the Iranian people to take over their government once the US and Israel ended “major combat operations” in Iran.

Iran launched retaliatory missile strikes targeting US facilities in several countries. Pakinomist’ Jennifer Griffin reported that approximately 40 missiles had landed in Israel. In addition, Iran appeared to hit the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, but no casualties were reported. Iran also fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and Jordan, where the United States has squadrons of advanced fighter jets, Griffin added.

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