A true Indiana basketball legend: Fever coach Stepanie White has quite a history

Stephanie White has been named the Indiana Fever coach for the second time, joining a team that made the WNBA playoffs in 2024 for the first since in eight years.

White, 47, is an Indiana basketball hero, earning the highest individual honor in high school basketball, winning a national championship in college and playing for her home state team in the pros.

White played for the Fever from 2000-04, was an assistant coach for the 2012 WNBA championship squad and was Indiana’s head coach in 2015-16.

Here’s more on Stephanie White’s story.

Who did Stephanie White play for?

After being drafted in the second round of the 1999 WNBA Draft, White played one season for the Charlotte Sting, averaging 5.3 points per game. That franchise, which had become the Miami Sol, traded her to the Indiana Fever.

White played four seasons in Indiana from 2000-04, averaging 6.1 points. She missed the 2002 season due to injury.

She joined the Fever coaching staff in 2011, helping them win the 2012 WNBA championship. White took over as head coach from Lin Dunn in 2015 and led two playoff teams before taking the coaching job at Vanderbilt.

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What is Stephanie White doing now?

White has been the Connecticut Sun coach for the past season seasons, compiling a 55-25 record and advancing to the second round of the WNBA playoffs each season.

She coached the Indiana Fever in 2015-16, compiling a 37-31 record and winning the Eastern Conference championship in ’15. The Fever lost to the Minnesota Lynx in five games in the ’15 WNBA Finals.

Where did Stephanie White go to school?

Stephanie White played at Purdue from 1995-99, scoring 2,182 points (No. 3 program history) with 667 rebounds, 578 assists (No. 2) and 277 steals (No. 6). White was a consensus first-team All-American as a senior, when the Boilermakers won the national championship under coach Carolyn Peck.

White averaged 10.8 points per game as a freshman, 16.4 as a sophomore, 20.6 as a junior and a Big Ten-leading 20.2 as a senior, along with 43.7% 3-point shooting.

Stephanie White high school

White scored a then-state record 2,869 career points at Seeger High School from 1991-95. Her total currently ranks fourth in state history. She won Indiana’s 1995 Miss Basketball award.

White averaged 36.9 points per game as a senior, including a game of 66 points.

Stephanie White playing timeline

1991-95: Seeger High School

1995-99: Purdue

1999: Charlotte Sting, WNBA

2000-04: Indiana Fever, WNBA

Stephanie White coaching timeline

2003-04: Ball State assistant coach

2004-05: Kansas State assistant coach

2007-10: Chicago Sky assistant coach

2011-14: Indiana Fever assistant coach

2015-16: Indiana Fever head coach (37-31 record)

2016-21: Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach (64-97 record)

2023-24: Connecticut Sun head coach (55-25 record)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever hire Stephanie White as head coach