Indiana Fever hire Stephanie White to be the franchise’s 10th head coach

More specifically, the Fever have only had nine unique head coaches. White was previously the head coach in Indiana already — she guided the team during Tamika Catchings‘ final two seasons in 2015 and 2016, and the Fever reached the WNBA Finals in 2015.

Now, after a seven-year gap that contained five seasons with the Vanderbilt Commodores and two with Connecticut, White is back with the Fever. “As we enter this new era of Fever basketball, I am thrilled to welcome Stephanie back to the franchise. Stephanie is a part of the fabric of this franchise, both as a former player and as a member of our championship coaching staff, so I’m quite familiar with her elite basketball IQ and leadership style,” Fever President of Basketball Operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a team-issued statement. “I am confident there is no one who better understands our culture or is more equipped to lead our group of players to the next level.”

Krauskopf is more equipped than anyone to make that statement — she hired White the first time that the head coach came to Indiana. Now, she’s doing it again. She’s seen first hand how the Illinois native operates.

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White’s ties to Indiana are deep. She played her college basketball at Purdue University, just an hour north of the Fever’s home in Indianapolis. During her freshman season, Lin Dunn was the coach of the Boilermakers — a connection that would matter later in White’s basketball career.

After a four-year college career, White played for the Charlotte Sting for one season before being picked up by Indiana in an expansion draft. She spent four seasons as an Indiana Fever player, where she averaged 6.1 points and 2.0 assists per game.

Her first coaching job came in Indiana as she took a head coaching role on Tracey Roller’s staff at Ball State University. The Cardinals play in Muncie, Indiana, and White learned quickly that coaching was something she wanted to do.

She took two other NCAA jobs before returning to the WNBA via an assistant coaching position with the Chicago Sky in 2007. In 2011, her prior connection to Dunn came back into the picture as White was offered a spot on the Fever’s coaching staff. She spent three years as an assistant with Indiana before being named the associate head coach in 2014.

The following year, Dunn retired. Krauskopf promoted White, who immediately guided the Indiana Fever to the WNBA Finals. She coached the team for two years, going 37-31 in that stint. Current Fever guard Erica Wheeler was on White’s roster during his second season with Indiana.

White’s ties to the midwest and the state of Indiana are nearly endless. From college to professional player to college coach to professional coach, she’s done it all in the Hoosier state. Now, with the Fever franchise entering a new era led by Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, White is back for round two as the Fever’s head coach.

“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 such an important time throughout women’s athletics. 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,” said White.

White departed her role with the Sun just a few days ago. She coached Connecticut for two seasons, and they lost in the second round twice. They were one game away from reaching the WNBA Finals this season before falling to the Minnesota Lynx.

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The Fever opened their head coach role on Sunday when they let go of Christie Sides after two seasons. White will be the fourth coach for Indiana since the start of the 2022 season. The hope now for a team with Clark, Boston, and other key long players will be to finalize a core with a new front office and new coaching staff.

“This is a winning franchise. We’ve had constant success of winning and being in the playoffs. My plan is to return us to that level of consistency,” Krauskopf said when introduced as team President last month. She’s built Indiana into a winner before, which included hiring White. She knows what it takes.

“For me, it feels like all the stars have aligned… every time I came back to Indiana, it just always felt like coming home. And now I am coming home, and it’s just such an incredible opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited,” White told Fieldhouse Files of being back with the Fever.

White’s mission with her new team will be to improve their defense — Connecticut was top-two in defensive rating in both seasons with White at the helm — and enhance their consistency. It won’t be an easy task with a young team, but the Fever believe they have the right person for the job.

The new Indiana Fever head coach will be introduced at a press conference next Monday. There, she will lay out her vision for the squad. It’s Stephanie White time in Indiana, and the franchise hopes that this era will be remembered for winning.

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