According to Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times, multiple sources expect the Indiana Fever to hire Current Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White will be the Fever’s next coach.
White has close ties to Indiana senior advisor Lin Dunn and new Fever president of basketball and business operations Kelly Krauskopf. After beginning her WNBA coaching career as an assistant with the Chicago Sky from 2007 to 2010, White became an assistant coach at Indiana from 2011 to 2014 under Dunn.
Then Krauskopf, who served as Fever president from 2000 to 2018, offered White his first WNBA head coaching job with Fever in 2015 after Dunn retired from coaching. White led Indiana to the WNBA Finals in her first season and another playoff appearance in 2016.
White left to become head coach at Vanderbilt prior to the 2016–17 women’s college basketball season.
White then returned to the WNBA head coaching ranks in the 2023 season with the Connecticut Sun. White led the Sun to 27-13 and 28-12 in the regular season in each of the last two seasons. Connecticut won third place and advanced to the WNBA semifinals each of the last two seasons.
With each of the last two WNBA Rookie of the Year winners on Indiana’s roster, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, the opportunity to lead these two and the call to return to a place White knows could be too attractive to pass up.
In addition to her coaching stint with the Fever, White also played four WNBA seasons with the Fever. White’s ties to Indiana State run deep.
White is from West Lebanon and was Seeger High School’s Miss Basketball. White was also a star on the Purdue team that won the 1999 NCAA championship, winning Big Ten Player of the Year and the Wade Trophy that season. White has one year remaining on his current contract with the Connecticut Sun.
Clark finished her rookie WNBA season averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 41.7% from the field, 34.4% from 3 points and 90.6% from the free throw line.
Re-signing free agent All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell will be the Fever’s biggest team goal this offseason.
The Fever announced Sunday morning the decision that the franchise was taking a shot at former head coach Christie Sides after a 33-47 record over two seasons.
The teams guided Indiana to a 20-20 record, the No. 6 seed and a first-round appearance in the WNBA playoffs last season. It was the Fever’s first return to the WNBA playoffs since White guided them there in 2016.
Contact us/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.
Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
