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Caitlin Clark and Fever get a new trainer, Stephanie White

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Indiana Fever on Friday hired Stephanie White as coach of Caitlin Clark & ​​Co. committed, a move that has been speculated about for weeks.

White, 47, was head coach of the Connecticut Sun for the past two seasons. She was named the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year and the 2023 All-Star Game Coach. She led the Sun to back-to-back semifinal appearances and compiled a 55-25 regular-season record and a 7-7 postseason record.

“I am incredibly proud and honored to return to Indiana and lead the Fever at such a pivotal moment in this franchise’s history, as well as such an important time in women’s athletics as a whole,” White said in a press release. “This franchise has always been committed to winning and I look forward to working every day to bring another WNBA title to the biggest basketball fans in the world.”

White was a Fever assistant in 2012 when Indiana won its only WNBA championship.

Fever President of Basketball Operations Kelly Krauskopf described White as “a 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 confident that there is no one who better understands our culture or is better able to take our group of players to the next level.”

With the 2025 Fever, White takes over for 2024 Rookie of the Year Clark, one of the most exciting athletes in all of sports. Clark, along with 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, is a dynamic scorer and passer who has helped propel the WNBA to unprecedented levels of prominence. The Fever return a strong core in Clark and Boston, and re-signing Kelsey Mitchell – now an unrestricted free agent – will be a top priority this offseason.

White replaces Christie Sides, who was fired on October 27.

On October 28, the Sun announced that they had “parted ways” with White, and it appeared to be an amicable split. The Fever had reportedly spoken to White about taking over Indianapolis, and she had also discussed continuing her tenure in Connecticut.

On October 29, White told ESPN.com that it was “not an easy decision to leave Connecticut, but I think it was the best one for my family and my career.” It meant a lot to me – I'm Jen (Rizzotti, President of Connecticut Sun) and the organization so grateful. It is a first class organization. For me, it meant a lot to be able to return to coaching with such a great team and coaching staff – which I didn't know if that was possible… At the end of the day, being away from my family is hard for me. So from a professional and personal perspective, I think it’s the best decision.”

Indiana is a familiar home for White. The Indiana native and 1999 Purdue graduate coached the Fever in 2015 and 2016. The Fever posted a 37-31 record during that time, lost to the Minnesota Lynx in the 2015 WNBA Finals and lost in the first round of the 2016 playoffs. ( White also played for them from 2000 to 2004.)

The opportunity to return to Indiana became official when the Fever announced they had released Sides after two seasons and a 33-47 record. After a 1-8 start, Sides led the Fever back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Indiana was defeated by the Sun in the first round.

White also works as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and anchored some of Clark's games when she played at Iowa.

Before the Fever played Connecticut in their season opener on May 24, Clark was asked what she thought of the then-Suns coach.

“Obviously she played a lot of my games throughout college and I think she has a really great basketball mind,” Clark said at the time. “I think she’s done a great job officiating college games. It was great to see them at NBA games. I think what she did is just that she was obviously a trailblazer. I think she’s someone who supports my game.”

Contributor: Indianapolis Star

Follow Lindsay Schnell on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

This story has been updated with new information.

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