The WNBA coaching landscape continues to dramatically and rapidly shift. On Monday afternoon, the Connecticut Sun announced they were parting ways with head coach Stephanie White, who has been with the organization for two seasons.
It was previously reported by Annie Costabile of the Sun-Times that White was likely to return to the Indiana Fever, who fired head coach Christie Sides on Sunday. White’s Sun beat Sides’ Fever in 2-0 in the first round of the WNBA playoffs last month.
White has a long history with Indiana basketball and the Fever organization; she went to high school in West Lebanon before emerging as a basketball star at Purdue, and has deep roots with the Fever organization, both as a player (2000 to 2004) and assistant coach (2011 to 2014).
She coached the team to a 55-25 regular season across two seasons and to two consecutive semi-finals appearances. But, the Sun failed to advance to the Finals both seasons, and now, the majority of their core is headed to free agency. Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones are all unrestricted, while DiJonai Carrington is restricted.
“We want to thank Stephanie for her time in Connecticut and her commitment to our organization over the past two seasons,” said Sun president Jen Rizzotti in the official press release. “We wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
Carrington turned to social media shortly after the decision to part ways with White was made public.
In a flash, the Sun become the 7th team without a head coach, less than two months away from the Golden State Valkyries Expansion Draft. The Los Angeles Sparks fired Curt Miller on September 24th, and the Chicago Sky fired Teresa Weatherspoon just a few days later. In October, the Atlanta Dream fired Tanisha Wright, the Dallas Wings fired Latricia Trammell, the Mystics fired Eric Thibault, and the Fever fired Christie Sides. In addition, the Aces, Wings, and Mystics all now have general manager vacancies.
It’s certainly possible that more firing announcements are in the works, but as it currently stands, the only returning WNBA coaches will be Sandy Brondello (Liberty), Cheryl Reeve (Lynx), Becky Hammon (Aces), Noelle Quinn (Storm), and Nate Tibbetts (Mercury).
It’s not yet clear who might replace White in Indiana, though Briann January appears to immediately emerge as a viable a candidate. January, an assistant on the Sun and former WNBA player, has long been considered to be one of the WNBA’s top assistants coaches and is one of the franchises’s defensive leaders.
She was recently announced as an assistant coach for the Motor City Cruise, the NBA G League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons, though those positions’ timelines don’t necessarily conflict given that the G League season ends prior to the beginning of the WNBA season.