Sun set to hire Stephanie White as coach, sources say

Stephanie White is set to be the next head coach of the Connecticut Sun, sources told ESPN on Monday.

White and the Sun were finalizing contract details, sources said. White, 45, is a former WNBA player who previously was a head coach and an assistant with the Indiana Fever and an assistant with the Chicago Sky.

White was on the Indiana staff of then-head coach Lin Dunn in 2012 when the Fever won their only WNBA title. In 2015, White was head coach of the Fever when they returned to the WNBA Finals and fell in five games to the Minnesota Lynx.

The Sun are coming off a WNBA Finals loss to the Las Vegas Aces after a 25-11 regular season. In all, Connecticut has made the WNBA Finals four times but is seeking the franchise’s first championship. Coach Curt Miller left the Sun after seven seasons to take over the Los Angeles Sparks on Oct. 21.

With White’s hiring, all WNBA head-coach openings will be filled. Latricia Trammell was officially named the Dallas Wings‘ coach Monday morning, and Christie Sides was named Indiana’s coach Friday. Trammell was a Sparks assistant and Sides an Atlanta Dream assistant before ascending to these head-coaching jobs.

White left the WNBA to return to the college game in 2016, going to Vanderbilt. Her contract wasn’t renewed by the school in 2021 after a 46-83 record over five seasons. She has also served as an ESPN analyst for college basketball.

White was an Indiana high school superstar before going to Purdue, where she helped lead the school to the NCAA women’s championship in 1999 and won the Wade Trophy. She played in the WNBA from 1999 to 2004 with the Charlotte Sting and Indiana before entering the coaching ranks. She coached collegiately at Ball State, Kansas State and Toledo, then moved into WNBA coaching.