Who are the top 10 highest-paid state employees in South Carolina?

South Carolina pays more than $8 million a year in compensating its 10 highest-paid employees. Who are they?

All of the state’s top earners work for a state university, with the University of South Carolina — not surprisingly, as the state’s largest public university — taking the lion’s share. Of the top ten, nine include collegiate athletic positions. And only one of the top-paid employees is a woman.

The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act allows compensation for employees with earnings equaling $50,000 or more annually to be released. Here are the highest-paid employees according to data from the S.C. Department of Administration.

Note: Compensation information provided by colleges and universities to the South Carolina Department of Administration does not include all types of pay and bonuses, and the salaries below do not necessarily reflect the full amount paid to the coaches.

10. Lamont Paris - $515,000

Lamont Paris is the head men’s basketball coach at USC, the first African American to serve in that role.

9. Anthony Wagner - $525,000

Anthony Wagner is the executive vice president for finance and operations at Clemson University and is responsible for managing the university’s finance, facilities, maintenance, procurement, environmental safety, enterprise risk management, and human resources departments.

8. Ray Tanner - $562,187

Ray Tanner oversees USC’s athletic department as athletic director, and was formerly the school’s head baseball coach.

7. Patrick Kelsey - $600,000

Patrick Kelsey is the head football coach at the College of Charleston.

6. Torrian Gray - $650,000

Torrian Gray is USC’s defensive backs coach, which generally assists the defensive coordinator in crafting defensive game plans.

5. Dowell Loggains - $1,000,000

Dowell Loggains serves as USC’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Offensive coordinators generally develop offensive game plans, call offensive plays and manage the team’s roster of offensive players.

4. Timothy Beck - $1,000,000

Timothy Beck is the head football coach at Carolina Coastal University.

3. Dawn Staley - $1,030,000

USC women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley is the highest-paid female state employee, earning at least over a million dollars annually.

Staley signed a seven-year $22.4 million contract extension in October 2021, making her the highest-paid women’s basketball coach in the SEC. The contract runs through the 2027-28 season. Her full annual salary currently sits at $3 million, but it climbs to $3.5 million by the final year of the deal.

In her 15 seasons at the helm of the lady Gamecocks, Staley secured two national championships, five NCAA Final Fours and seven SEC Tournament titles.

2. Clayton White - $1,133,000

Clayton White serves as USC’s football defensive coordinator, a role he’s had since 2021.

Defensive coordinators generally develop defensive game plans, call defensive plays and manage the team’s roster of defensive players.

1. Shane Beamer - $1,175,000

USC head football coach Shane Beamer is South Carolina’s top earning employee with a $1.1 million annual salary, according to the South Carolina Department of Administration. But that amount doesn’t include nearly all of Beamer’s compensation.

In fact, the 46-year-old signed a new contract earlier this year that’ll pay him $6.125 million in 2023 with escalators of $250,000 each year through the 2027 season — making him the highest-paid coach in school history. That’s up from his previous salary of $2.75 million annually.