.jpg) White with theConnecticut Sun in 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| Indiana Fever | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Head coach | ||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1977-06-20)June 20, 1977 (age 47) Danville, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 155 lb (70 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Seeger (West Lebanon, Indiana) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Purdue (1995–1999) | ||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 1999: 2nd round, 21st overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Charlotte Sting | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1999–2003 | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Shooting guard /small forward | ||||||||||||||
| Number | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2003–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| As a player: | |||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Charlotte Sting | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2004 | Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Ball State (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Kansas State (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Toledo (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | Chicago Sky (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Indiana Fever (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2021 | Vanderbilt | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Connecticut Sun | ||||||||||||||
| 2025–present | Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||
As head coach:
As assistant coach: As player:
| |||||||||||||||
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Stephanie Joanne White (formerlyStephanie White-McCarty; born June 20, 1977) is an American professionalbasketball coach and former player who is the head coach of theIndiana Fever of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[1] She was previously head coach of the WNBAConnecticut Sun in the 2023 and 2024 seasons andVanderbilt Commodores women's basketball team from 2016 to 2021.[2] Before Vanderbilt, she was the head coach of the WNBA Indiana Fever for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.[3] As an intercollegiate athlete, she was named the winner of theWade Trophy in 1999, which recognizes the top female basketball player in the nation.[4]
White was the 1995Indiana Miss Basketball and was also named 1995Gatorade National Player of the Year and theUSA Today National Player of the Year. White attendedSeeger High School in West Lebanon, Indiana, where she was named a High School All-American by theWBCA. She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game in 1995, scoring seventeen points, and earning MVP honors.[5][6] She ledPurdue University to the1999NCAAWomen's National Championship in basketball. She played five years in the WNBA, one with theCharlotte Sting and four with theIndiana Fever. She retired in 2004.
White began her coaching career with several assistant coaching positions atBall State,Kansas State, and theUniversity of Toledo before joining theChicago Sky as an assistant coach in 2007. After serving as assistant coach for four years, she became head coach of the Indiana Fever in 2014, leading the team to the WNBA Finals in her first season. White then served as head coach of theVanderbilt Commodores from 2016 to 2021. Following a brief hiatus, she returned to the WNBA in 2023 to coach the Connecticut Sun, leading them to consecutive playoff appearances. She rejoined the Fever as head coach in 2024.
White attendedPurdue University, where she was named National College Player of the Year, Indiana NCAA Woman of the Year, andBig Ten Conference Player of the Year on the way to leading Purdue to the NCAA National Championship in 1999.
White began her five-year WNBA career with theCharlotte Sting in 1999 under her married name, Stephanie White-McCarty. She was acquired a year later in an expansion draft by theIndiana Fever to lead the team's inaugural season roster. After four years with the Fever, she ranked third in games played (112) and three point field goals (92), and fourth in scoring (684). She averaged 5.9 points and 2.0 assists per game.
White competed withUSA Basketball as a member of the 1997Jones Cup Team that won the silver medal inTaipei. Several of the games were close, with the USA team winning four games by six points or fewer, including an overtime game in the semifinal match against Japan. The gold medal game against South Korea was also close, but the USA fell 76–71 to claim the silver medal for the event. White was the second leading scorer for the team, averaging 10.3 points per game.[7]
She retired from the WNBA after the 2004 season[8] and went on to become the assistant coach atBall State (2003–04),Kansas State (2004–05), and theUniversity of Toledo (2005–07),[9] before going to theChicago Sky as an assistant coach.[10]
A 1999 general communications major graduate,[9] White sat out the 2002 season with an injury and worked as a television color commentator and sideline reporter during Fever Games.[11] Since 2007, White has also served as a college basketball analyst forESPN and theBig Ten Network, including studio work and co-hosting the network's coverage of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament. White has also worked as an Indiana Pacers Reporter for FOX Sports Indiana.[12]
White returned to the Indiana Fever as an assistant coach in 2011.[13] WhenLin Dunn retired as head coach of the Fever after the 2014 season, White became head coach.[14] In her first season as head coach, Indiana went 20–14 overall and made their secondWNBA Finals appearance, losing the best-of-five series to Minnesota. In 2016, her second season with the Fever, the team made it to theplayoffs for the12th consecutive time, finished the season with a 17–17 record and lost in the first round of the playoffs to thePhoenix Mercury.
On May 23, 2016, White accepted the head coaching job for theVanderbilt Commodores women's basketball team. She completed the 2016 season with the Fever, finishing her time there with a 37–31 overall record and a 6–6 record in the postseason.[15] Through herfive seasons at Vanderbilt, White compiled a 46–83 overall record and went 13-55 against Southeastern Conference competition. Her fifth season at Vanderbilt was shortened in January 2021, due toCOVID-19 concerns, injuries, and a depleted roster.[16] The school announced that White would not be returning as coach on April 6, 2021.[17][18]
White returned to coaching in the WNBA in 2023 as head coach of the Connecticut Sun. The team had 27–13 and 28–12 records in 2023 and 2024, respectively, losing in the second round of the playoffs each time. White was namedWNBA Coach of the Year.[19] White and the Sun parted ways on October 28, 2024, following two consecutive playoff semifinals appearances.[20]
She was hired by the Indiana Fever for a second stint on November 1.[21]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| * | Denotes season(s) in which White won anNCAA Championship |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Charlotte | 30 | 5 | 18.8 | 40.8 | 35.4 | 90.9 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 5.3 |
| 2000 | Indiana | 32 | 12 | 19.8 | 39.8 | 38.6 | 82.6 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 7.2 |
| 2001 | Indiana | 30 | 0 | 16.8 | 38.0 | 40.4 | 77.4 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 5.6 |
| 2002 | Did not play (injury) | ||||||||||||
| 2003 | Indiana | 28 | 10 | 20.6 | 34.7 | 34.5 | 93.8 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 6.9 |
| 2004 | Indiana | 22 | 12 | 20.5 | 37.5 | 33.3 | 70.6 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 4.1 |
| Career | 5 years, 2 teams | 142 | 39 | 19.2 | 38.1 | 36.5 | 83.1 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 5.9 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Charlotte | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 1 year, 1 team | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | Purdue | 31 | — | — | .407 | .373 | .766 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 0.4 | — | 10.8 |
| 1996–97 | Purdue | 28 | — | — | .435 | .314 | .784 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 0.4 | — | 16.4 |
| 1997–98 | Purdue | 33 | — | — | .447 | .324 | .844 | 6.1 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 0.5 | — | 20.6 |
| 1998–99* | Purdue | 35 | — | — | .468 | .437 | .795 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 0.5 | — | 20.2 |
| Career | 127 | — | — | .445 | .365 | .803 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 0.4 | — | 17.2 | |
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Commodores(Southeastern Conference)(2016–2021) | |||||||||
| 2016–17 | Vanderbilt | 14–16 | 4–12 | 13th | |||||
| 2017–18 | Vanderbilt | 7–24 | 3–13 | T-11th | |||||
| 2018–19 | Vanderbilt | 7–23 | 2–14 | 14th | |||||
| 2019–20 | Vanderbilt | 14–16 | 4–12 | T-12th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Vanderbilt | 4–4 | 0–3 | 14th | Season ended early due to COVID-19 | ||||
| Vanderbilt: | 46–83 (.357) | 13–54 (.194) | |||||||
| Total: | 46–83 (.357) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND | 2015 | 34 | 20 | 14 | .588 | 3rd in East | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | Lost inFinals |
| IND | 2016 | 34 | 17 | 17 | .500 | 3rd in East | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost inFirst Round |
| CON | 2023 | 40 | 27 | 13 | .675 | 2nd in East | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost inSemifinals |
| CON | 2024 | 40 | 28 | 12 | .700 | 2nd in East | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | Lost inSemifinals |
| Career | 148 | 92 | 56 | .622 | 26 | 13 | 13 | .500 |
She married Brent McCarty in 1998.[23] They divorced in 2002.[24]
White earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Purdue in 1999.[9]
White resides inNashville, Tennessee, with her three young children and partnerLisa Salters.[25]
White, 27, announced her retirement Apil 21 after five WNBA seasons." "Injuries plagued her as a pro - she sat out the 2002 season after knee and ankle surgeries.
Krauscopf never considered making a change. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't worried that the Fever's 2016 season would be compromised.
White was fired Tuesday after five seasons, compiling a 46-83 overall record and 13-54 SEC mark.
