Stephanie White

For the neuroscientist, see Stephanie A. White.

Stephanie White

White with the Connecticut Sun in 2024
Indiana Fever
Position	Head coach
League	WNBA
Personal information
Born	(1977-06-20) June 20, 1977 (age 48) 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: WNBA Coach of the Year (2023) WNBA Commissioner's Cup Champion (2025) WNBA All-Star Game head coach (2023) As assistant coach: WNBA champion (2012) As player: NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament champion (1999) Wade Trophy (1999) Honda Sports Award (1999) Consensus All-American (1999) Big Ten Athlete of the Year (1999) Big Ten Player of the Year (1999) Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball (1999) Women's Basketball Academic All-American of the Year (1999) Big Ten Tournament MOP (1999) 2× First-team All-Big Ten (1998, 1999) WBCA All-Star Game MVP (1995) USA Today Player of the Year (1995) Gatorade Player of the Year (1995) Indiana Miss Basketball (1995)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Women's Basketball Representing   United States Jones Cup 1997 Taipei Team Competition

Stephanie Joanne White (formerly Stephanie White-McCarty; born June 20, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). ^[1] She was previously head coach of the WNBA Connecticut Sun in the 2023 and 2024 seasons and Vanderbilt 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 the Wade Trophy in 1999, which recognizes the top female basketball player in the nation. ^[4]

White was the 1995 Indiana Miss Basketball and was also named 1995 Gatorade National Player of the Year and the USA Today National Player of the Year. White attended Seeger High School in West Lebanon, Indiana, where she was named a High School All-American by the WBCA. She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game in 1995, scoring seventeen points, and earning MVP honors. ^{[5] [6]} She led Purdue University to the 1999 NCAA Women's National Championship in basketball. She played five years in the WNBA, one with the Charlotte Sting and four with the Indiana Fever. She retired in 2004.

White began her coaching career with several assistant coaching positions at Ball State, Kansas State, and the University of Toledo before joining the Chicago 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 in 2015. White then served as head coach of the Vanderbilt 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.

College career

White attended Purdue University, where she was named National College Player of the Year, Indiana NCAA Woman of the Year, and Big Ten Conference Player of the Year on the way to leading Purdue to the NCAA National Championship in 1999.

Professional career

WNBA

White began her five-year WNBA career with the Charlotte Sting in 1999 under her married name, Stephanie White-McCarty.

During the 2000 expansion draft on December 15, 1999, White was selected by the Miami Sol. ^[7] She was then traded to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Sandy Brondello and a 2000 first-round draft pick. ^[8] 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.

National team career

White competed with USA Basketball as a member of the 1997 Jones Cup Team that won the silver medal in Taipei. 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. ^[9]

Post-playing career

She retired from the WNBA after the 2004 season ^[10] and went on to become the assistant coach at Ball State (2003–04), Kansas State (2004–05), and the University of Toledo (2005–07), ^[11] before going to the Chicago Sky as an assistant coach. ^[12]

A 1999 general communications major graduate, ^[11] White sat out the 2002 season with an injury and worked as a television color commentator and sideline reporter during Fever Games. ^[13] Since 2007, White has also served as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and the Big 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. ^[14]

White returned to the Indiana Fever as an assistant coach in 2011. ^[15] When Lin Dunn retired as head coach of the Fever after the 2014 season, White became head coach. ^[16] In her first season as head coach, Indiana went 20–14 overall and made their second WNBA Finals appearance, losing the best-of-five series to the Minnesota Lynx. White was the first rookie coach in WNBA history to lead a team to the WNBA Finals. ^[17] In 2016, her second season with the Fever, the team made it to the playoffs for the 12th consecutive time, finished the season with a 17–17 record and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Phoenix Mercury.

On May 23, 2016, White accepted the head coaching job for the Vanderbilt 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. ^[18] Through her five 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 to COVID-19 concerns, injuries, and a depleted roster. ^[19] The school announced that White would not be returning as coach on April 6, 2021. ^{[20] [21]}

White returned to coaching in the WNBA in 2023 as head coach of the Connecticut Sun. ^[22] 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 named WNBA Coach of the Year. ^[23] White and the Sun parted ways on October 28, 2024, following two consecutive playoff semifinals appearances. ^[24]

She was hired by the Indiana Fever for a second stint on November 1. ^[25]

Career statistics

WNBA

Legend

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 an NCAA Championship

Regular season

WNBA regular season statistics

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

Playoffs

WNBA playoff statistics

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

College

NCAA statistics ^[26]

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

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview

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         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

WNBA

Legend

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 in Finals
IND	2016	34	17	17	.500	3rd in East	1	0	1	.000	Lost in First Round
CON	2023	40	27	13	.675	2nd in East	7	3	4	.429	Lost in Semifinals
CON	2024	40	28	12	.700	2nd in East	7	4	3	.571	Lost in Semifinals
IND	2025	44	24	20	.545	3rd in East	4	3	1	.750	TBD in Semifinals
Career		192	116	76	.604		30	16	14	.533

Personal life

She married her high school sweetheart, Brent McCarty, in 1998. ^[27] The couple divorced in 2002. ^[28]

White earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Purdue University in 1999. ^[11] She also earned Academic All-American honors twice and was inducted in Phi Beta Kappa. ^[29] White was inducted into the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006 and the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2017. ^[17]

White came out in 2015 ^[30] as a lesbian, starting a relationship with and marrying Michelle Fletcher. ^{[31] [32]} Due to the then active same-sex marriage ban in Indiana, the couple travelled to California to be legally married. ^[33] In 2011, White gave birth to their first child. ^[34] About two years later, the couple welcomed twin boys to their family. ^{[34] [35]}

White and her current partner, reporter Lisa Salters, reside in Nashville, Tennessee with Salters' son, and White's three sons. ^{[22] [36]}

Awards and honors

• 1995 — Indiana Miss Basketball
• 1999 — Wade Trophy
• 1999 — Honda Sports Award for basketball ^{[37] [38]}
• 2006 — Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame
• 2017 — Purdue University Emerging Voice Award ^[11]
• 2017 — CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame
• 2022 — Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame ^[39]

References

1. "Indiana Fever Hire Stephanie White as Head Coach". fever.wnba.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
2. "Vanderbilt confirms hiring of coach Stephanie White". The Tennessean. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
3. "Stephanie White and Fever Issue Statement on Indiana Coaching Position". Indiana Fever. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
4. "The Wade Trophy". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
5. "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
6. "WBCA High School All-America Game Team MVP's". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
7. "2000 WNBA Expansion Draft". Basketball Reference. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
8. "#Fever15 Moments: Fever Acquire Stephanie White". WNBA . Retrieved September 1, 2025.
9. "1997 Women's R. William Jones Cup". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
10. "Fever to honor team's first star - Indiana basketball great to be celebrated at tonight's game with Stephanie White Night". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett. June 10, 2005. pp. D1, D2. Retrieved February 13, 2025. 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.
11. "Stephanie White, Emerging Voice Award Recipient". Purdue University. West Lafayette, Indiana. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
12. Beas, Mike (May 20, 2011). "She's back with the Fever - Former prep, Purdue standout to help coach WNBA team". Daily Journal. Johnson County, Indiana: AIM Media Indiana. pp. B1, B3. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
13. Morwick, Rick (July 15, 2004). "Majority of WNBA players not set for life financially". Daily Journal. Franklin Indiana: AIM Media Indiana. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
14. "Stephanie White". USA Basketball. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
15. Beas, Mike (May 20, 2011). "She's back with the Fever". Newspapers.com. The Daily Journal. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
16. Allison, Autumn (September 24, 2014). "She's right at home". Newspapers.com. The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
17. "Stephanie White (2017) - Academic All-America". Academic All-America. May 25, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
18. Doyel, Gregg (June 15, 2016). "2 jobs, 1 Stephanie White? No problem". Journal and Courier. Lafaette, Indiana: Journal & Courier Media Group.; Gannett. p. 5D. Retrieved February 18, 2025. Krauscopf never considered making a change. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't worried that the Fever's 2016 season would be compromised.
19. Feinberg, Adam (January 18, 2021). "Vanderbilt women's basketball season discontinued over COVID-19, depleted roster". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
20. "Vanderbilt Parts Ways with Stephanie White". vucommodores.com. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
21. Sparks, Adam (April 7, 2021). "Vandy fires basketball coach Stephanie White". Knoxville News Sentinel. No. 14, Vol 9. Knoxville, Tennessee: Gannett. p. B2. Retrieved February 19, 2025. White was fired Tuesday after five seasons, compiling a 46-83 overall record and 13-54 SEC mark.
22. "Stephanie White Named Connecticut Sun Head Coach". Connecticut Sun. November 21, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
23. "Connecticut Sun's Stephanie White Named 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year" (Press release). WNBA. September 17, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
24. "White out as Sun head coach after two seasons". ESPN.com. October 28, 2024. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
25. "WNBA's Fever name White as new head coach". ESPN.com. November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
26. "Stephanie White College Stats". Sports-Reference . Retrieved November 7, 2024.
27. Anderson, Kelli. "Homegrown Hoosier Hero Stephanie White-McCarty leads Purdue on a quest to win an NCAA title". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com.
28. "ESPN.com: WNBA - Fever's White makes healthy, happy return". a.espncdn.com.
29. Rexrode, Joe (May 25, 2016). "Vanderbilt's Stephanie White — worth the wait". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
30. "Who Is Stephanie White's Partner? Everything about Michelle Fletcher". Sports Unfold. September 21, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
31. "Vanderbilt hires Stephanie White, openly lesbian, as women's basketball coach". Out Sports. May 26, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
32. Ellis, Zac (January 8, 2018). "WBB: All in the family". VUCommodores.com. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
33. "IU Women's Basketball Pride Event". My IU. Retrieved June 24, 2025. She and her longtime partner, Michelle, live in Indiana and they travelled to California to be legally married prior to Indiana's ban being lifted.
34. "Stephanie White - College of Liberal Arts". Purdue University - College of Liberal Arts. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
35. "2016 Forty Under 40: Stephanie White". Indianapolis Business Journal. February 2, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
36. Horner, Scott; Peterson, Chloe (June 8, 2025). "Stephanie White, Lisa Salters away from Indiana Fever, ESPN; what we know". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
37. "PAST HONDA SPORTS AWARD WINNERS FOR BASKETBALL". THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
38. "Stephanie White Tabbed to IBHOF Silver Anniversary Team". Purdue University Athletics. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
39. "White Inducted into Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame..." Purdue Sports. Purdue University Athletics. April 30, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2025.