WNBA franchises have parted ways with their coaches at unprecedented level this offseason. The Ringer’s Mirin Fader compares the league’s latest trend to the NBA.
Stephanie White is going from Connecticut to Caitlin Clark.
The former Sun coach has been named the head coach of the Indiana Fever, the team announced on Friday.
The move comes just days after the Sun parted ways with White, who helped guide Connecticut to its sixth straight WNBA semifinals appearance this past season.
White will be right back at home with the Fever. The West Lebanon, Indiana, native and Purdue alumna played four seasons with the Fever from 2000 to 2004 and spent six seasons on the Fever's sideline.
She was an Indiana assistant from 2011 to 2014 and was the team's head coach in 2015 and 2016. The Fever were one win away from taking home the 2015 WNBA title in White's first season in charge and followed that up with a first-round exit in 2016.
From there, White spent five seasons as the head coach at Vanderbilt from 2016 to 2021 and accepted the Sun's coaching job in 2023, taking the spot of Curt Miller.
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“I am incredibly proud and honored to return home to Indiana and lead the Fever during such a pivotal moment in this franchise’s history, as well as during during such an important time throughout women’s athletics,” White said in a press release. “This franchise has and always will be committed to winning and I look forward to working every day to help deliver another WNBA title to the greatest basketball fans in the world.”
White returns to rising Indiana team headlined by Clark and another No. 1 overall draft pick in Aliyah Boston. The Fever overcame a 1-8 start to finish 20-20, earning the No. 6 seed and falling to the Sun in the first round.
The team proceeded to fire head coach Christie Sides on Sunday. Sides was hired as Indiana's head coach in 2023 and had a 33-47 regular season record.
As for the Sun, they went 55-25 in the regular season and 7-7 in the playoffs in White's two seasons at the helm. They are one of six WNBA teams still searching for a head coach.
