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South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley said Saturday that the university is working to bring home from Israel three former basketball players, including WNBA veteran Tiffany Mitchell, as joint missile strikes with the United States against Iran continue.
Staley shared a message on
South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley watches during their game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, on January 25, 2026. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
“Please pray for our @GamecockWBB @TiffMitch25 @2121Mikiah @dstnylttltn24 who are in a war zone in Israel,” his post read.
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“We are working on a plan to return home. Please pray that our loved ones return home safely as soon as possible! Thank you in advance.”
Neither the WNBA nor the University of South Carolina immediately responded to Pak Gazette Digital’s request for comment.
Littleton, who played for the South Carolina Gamecocks from 2019 to 2022, posted a series of video updates on social media indicating that he was “safe.”
South Carolina guard Destiny Littleton (11) plays during a women’s college 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 about to go to the shelter now,” he said in a video. “It’s unfortunate, but this is the circumstance right now.”
Mitchell reshared Staley’s post on X with the praying hands emojis, but did not comment further. Herbert Harrigan did the same.
Littleton currently plays for Hapoel Lev Jerusalem, a professional women’s basketball team in the Israel Women’s Basketball Premier League. According to the team’s Facebook, he signed with the team in November. He previously played for the USA basketball team, winning 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 Rodríguez/Getty Images)
Mitchell signed with the Storm in July after beginning the 2025 season with the Las Vegas Aces. She has played several offseasons abroad, including a season in the Russian Women’s Basketball Premier League. She last played with Hapoel Lev Jerusalem during 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 Chinese Women’s Basketball Association.
Herbert Harrigan was a first-round pick in the WNBA, being selected sixth overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft. She has several seasons in 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 United States joined Israel in launching pre-emptive strikes against Iran on Saturday morning. In video comments posted on Truth Social, Trump encouraged the Iranian people take over his government once the United States and Israel ended “major combat operations” in Iran.
Iran launched retaliatory missile attacks against US facilities in several countries. Pak Gazette’ Jennifer Griffin reported that approximately 40 missiles had landed in Israel. Additionally, Iran appeared to attack the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, but no casualties were reported. Iran also launched missiles against Saudi Arabia and Jordan, where the United States has advanced fighter jet squadrons, Griffin added.
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