The Indiana Fever have hired Stephanie White as their next head coach.

White, 47, replaces Christie Sides, who went 20-20 last season and led the team to its first playoff berth since 2016.

As a player, White won a national championship with Purdue in 1999 and then was part of the Fever’s first team as a rookie in 2000. She played for them from 2000 to 2004.

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Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White watches from the sideline as they take on the Minnesota Lynx in Game 4 of the 2024 WNBA Semifinals at Mohegan Sun Arena. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)

White was a member of the Fever coaching staff from 2011 to 2016. She was an assistant coach during the team’s 2012 championship run.

At the start of the 2015 season, White was promoted to head coach and led the Fever to a Championship berth in her first year in 2015.

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

THE UNMATCHED BASKETBALL LEAGUE BRINGS ANOTHER FRIEND OF CAITLIN CLARK IN HOPES OF JOINING WNBA PHENOM

Stephanie White of the Indiana Fever drives against the Washington Mystics during a WNBA game at Conseco Fieldhouse on May 31, 2003 in Indianapolis. (Ron Hoskins/WNBAE via Getty Images)

“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 am quite familiar with her elite basketball IQ and leadership style. I am confident that there is no one who understands our culture better or is better able to take our group of players to the next level.”

After leaving the Fever in 2016, she served as Vanderbilt’s head coach until 2021. In 2023, White returned to the professional ranks as head coach for the Connecticut Sun, where she went 55-23 with the team.

“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.

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Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White during the first half against the Minnesota Lynx of Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Semifinals at Target Center. (Matt Krohn/Imagn Images)

“This franchise has always been and always will be committed to winning, and I look forward to working every day to bring another WNBA title to the biggest basketball fans in the world.”

White already has something in common with her star player Caitlin Clark. White wore number 22, Clark’s current number, during her time as a player with the Fever.

The Fever were the first of seven teams to fill a head coaching vacancy in the WNBA.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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