Three days after parting ways with the Connecticut Sun, Stephanie White quickly landed with the Indiana Fever.

“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 statement. “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.”

ESPN’s Alexa Philippou first reported that the Fever had hired White as their new head coach after the team made its first playoff appearance in eight years on the strength of Caitlin Clark’s debut season, which earned her Rookie of the Year honors brought in.

Indiana had an open head coaching position after parting ways with Christie Sides on October 27. She went 33-47 overall in two seasons and led the team to a playoff berth in 2024.

The Sun’s decision to leave White came as a surprise, as the team was incredibly successful during her two-year tenure as head coach. She led them to a 55-25 record with back-to-back appearances in the WNBA playoff semifinals.

Connecticut’s 2024 season ended with an 88-77 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the semifinals.

Sun President Jen Rizzotti told Philippou that the organization and White parted “on good terms because part of (White’s) decision-making process was not just about basketball.”

White, who earned Coach of the Year honors in her first season with the Sun, returns to Indiana, where she played four years of college basketball at Purdue and four years for the Fever from 2000-04.

After White’s playing career ended, she moved into coaching. The 47-year-old’s longest coaching career to date was with the Fever from 2011 to 2016. She originally joined the team as an assistant on Lin Dunn’s staff before taking over as head coach in 2015 following Dunn’s resignation.

The Fever reached the WNBA Finals in White’s first season, losing to the Lynx in five games. She left the team after the 2016 season to become Vanderbilt’s head coach.

Of the seven head coaching vacancies in the WNBA this offseason, the Fever job was arguably the most coveted. They already have two young stars in the squad with Clark and Aliyah Boston.

Clark’s impact on the offense was immediate, as they finished third in points per game and scoring during the 2024 season.

As long as the Fever can improve their defensive efficiency – they have finished in the bottom three in that category every year since 2017 – they have a path to title contendership.

In White’s four seasons as WNBA head coach, her teams never ranked lower than sixth in defensive rating.