Indiana hires Stephanie White as coach to lead Caitlin Clark and the Fever

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Fever hired Stephanie White as coach on Friday, putting her in charge of a team led by WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.

White spent the past two seasons as head coach of the Connecticut Sun before parting ways with the team earlier this week.

The former star at Purdue was part of the Fever coaching staff from 2011 to 2016, including as head coach for the final two of those seasons. The Fever won the WNBA title in 2012 with White on the staff.

“I am incredibly proud and honored to return home to Indiana and lead the Fever during such a pivotal time in the history of this franchise, but also during such an important time in women’s athletics,” White said in a statement declaration. “This franchise has always been committed to winning and always will be. I look forward to working every day to deliver another WNBA title to the greatest basketball fans in the world.”

White replaces Christie Sides, who led the Fever to a 20-20 record last season and the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2016. The organization announced it was moving on from Sides, who was head coach for two seasons before being named last Sunday released. .

Indiana is the first of seven head coaching vacancies to be filled across the league.

“As we enter this new era of Fever basketball, I am excited to welcome Stephanie back to the franchise,” said Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf. “Stephanie is part of the fabric of this franchise, both as a former player and as a member of our championship coaching staff, so I am quite familiar with her elite basketball IQ and leadership style. I am convinced that there is no one who better understands our culture or is better equipped to lead our group of players to the next level.”

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