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

INDIANAPOLIS — 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 served on the Fever coaching staff from 2011-16, 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 moment in this franchise's history, as well as during such an important time throughout women's athletics,'' White said in a statement. ''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.''

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 the head coach for two seasons before being let go last Sunday.

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

''As we enter this new era of Fever basketball, I am thrilled to welcome Stephanie back to the franchise,'' Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said. ''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. 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.''

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