Caitlin Clark will have a new head coach for her second year in the WNBA and it appears as though a hire is imminent. Stephanie White is likely going to leave the Connecticut Sun to return to the Indiana Fever.
This ongoing search is fluid, so things could change over the next few days/weeks, but all of the signs point toward a reunion in Indianapolis.
White, now 47, began her five-year WNBA career with the Charlotte Sting in 1999. She was later acquired by Indiana during the expansion draft in 2000 and played four seasons with the organization.
Fast forward to 2015.
White was named as head coach of her former team after a four-year stint as an assistant. The Fever won 20 games in the regular season and reached the WNBA Finals in her first year. It won 17 games and made the playoffs in year two.
Despite her success on the professional level, White took the Vanderbilt job in 2016. She returned to the WNBA in 2023 with the Sun. Connecticut won the most games in franchise history in back-to-back seasons and reached the semifinals in both years.
All of this goes to say that Stephanie White is a good coach.
In addition to her proven track record as a winner, her opinion of Clark is very positive. She told everybody to “chill out” when the No. 1 pick started slow as a rookie.
Stephanie White telling everyone to chill out on Caitlin Clark after her first 2 games. She’s going to be the perfect coach for the Fever. pic.twitter.com/wYY0SeysAT
— chris (@cxrtichris) October 27, 2024
Christie Sides was fired as head coach of the Indiana Fever on Sunday. Stephanie White was immediately attached to the opening for a few different reasons.
First and foremost, the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year has previous ties to the organization. And those connections go even deeper than it seems on the surface.
Indiana (re)hired Kelly Krauskopf as the team’s president of basketball and business operations at the end of September. Krauskopf was the original architect of the franchise. She gave White the head coaching job as the general manager in 2015. They go back almost a decade!
The comments about Clark during the early season is another sign. Who wouldn’t want the back-to-back Rookies of the Year and a backcourt with Kelsey Mitchell?
Most importantly, White has been “in talks” with multiple teams regarding her future over the last week or so. Connecticut, Chicago and Indiana are the three primary suitors.
The Sun has White under contract through 2025 and doesn’t want her to leave. The Sky and the Fever want White to coach their star rookies.
According to Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times, it is the lattermost team with the highest chance of landing their top target. Stephanie White’s return to Indianapolis is imminent at this point.
Caitlin Clark is (probably) going to play for a head coach with a 92-56 all-time record in the WNBA!
The post All Signs Point Toward Caitlin Clark’s New Head Coach Leaving WNBA Powerhouse In Coming Days appeared first on BroBible.
All Signs Point Toward Caitlin Clark’s New Head Coach Leaving WNBA Powerhouse In Coming Days
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