Alexa Philippou, ESPN
The Indiana Fever has hired Stephanie White as their new head coach, the team announced Friday.
White, who spent the past two seasons as head coach of the Connecticut Sun, will take over a franchise led by WNBA star Caitlin Clark.
“We are excited to welcome Stephanie to the franchise as we enter a new era of Fever basketball,” president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a statement. “Stephanie has been a part of the fabric of this franchise, both as a former player and as part of a championship coaching staff, so I am familiar with her elite basketball IQ and leadership style. “I’m confident that he has the ability to better understand our culture or take our group of players to the next level.” ”
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Coach White will aim to lead Indiana to the franchise’s first championship since 2012, centered on a promising young core of Clark and Aliyah Boston, the past two No. 1 draft picks.
White, an Indiana native and former Purdue star, is familiar with the Fever, having served on the team’s coaching staff from 2011 to 2016, the last two as head coach. She was a member of the franchise’s original roster in 2000 and played four seasons with the team.
“I am extremely proud and honored to return to my hometown of Indiana and lead the Fever at such a pivotal time in the history of this franchise, and in women’s athletics as a whole,” White said in a statement. ” he said. “This franchise has been and continues to be committed to winning, and we look forward to working every day to bring more WNBA titles to great basketball fans around the world.”
During an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today, White expressed his excitement to lead such a talented team.
“When you think of this young and exciting roster, you think of a generational player in Caitlin Clark and back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners with Aliyah Boston. Kelsey Mitchell is one of the best players in her career. I think we’ve had a great year. It’s just an exciting roster.”
White went 55-25 with back-to-back semifinal appearances against the Sun and won WNBA Coach of the Year in 2023. Before returning to the WNBA, he coached at Vanderbilt for five seasons and worked as a basketball analyst for many years.
She replaces Christy Sides, who led the Fever to a 20-20 record last season and their first playoff berth since 2016. The organization announced Sunday that Sides is stepping down after just completing his second season in the role. The Sun announced Monday that White would be leaving after two seasons with the team.
White’s hiring is the latest big move for Fever, which named Krauskopf as its new president in September and Amber Cox as its new COO and GM last month.
The arrival of Clark, the 2024 Rookie of the Year and All-WNBA first-team selection, catapults the Fever to another layer of relevance. The franchise led the league in attendance this year, averaging more than 17,000 fans per game. The game regularly attracts more than 1 million viewers.
White said she had already spoken to Clark, who had been watching her for a while.
“I spoke to Caitlin last night and I think she was just generally excited,” White said. “I’ve been watching Kaitlyn play since she was in eighth grade. At that time, I was coaching in college and covering her games in college. It was just an exciting time for me. I’m very excited to work with her and this young team.”
“She’s a basketball student. She loves the game of basketball. She’s been so great in the way she handles all the attention. She just wants to play. She just wants to win. And I “I look forward to coaching these players and working on the next steps for this young franchise, this young team, and for us.” ”
Excluding the league’s newest expansion team in Golden State, the WNBA will have seven new head coaches at the helm in the 2025 season, a record number, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
