After a two-year stint on the job with the Connecticut Sun, Stephanie White will not be back as the Sun’s coach in 2025. Connecticut announced Monday that the team and White have mutually parted ways.
White won WNBA Coach of the Year honors in 2023, her first year in Connecticut. She guided the Sun to back-to-back postseason appearances in two years, losing in the semifinals both years. The Sun had a 55-25 record in two seasons with White at the helm.
Connecticut president Jennifer Rizzotti, who was a great player at the University of Connecticut and the WNBA in her own right, told ESPN that the decision to part ways was mutual.
“We parted on good terms because some of White’s decision-making process was not just about basketball,” Rizzotti said, adding she thinks White will talk about her decision at a later time.
White went into greater detail on that thought, telling ESPN that the decision benefited her life both on and off the court.
“It’s not an easy decision to leave Connecticut, but I think the best one for my family and my career,” White said. “It’s meant a lot to me … But certainly, at the end of the day, it’s tough for me being away from my family. So, from a professional standpoint and a personal standpoint, I feel like it’s the best decision.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Sun started the 2024 campaign with a bang, coming out strong with a nine-game winning streak. The team spent several weeks at first place in the WNBA standings before ultimately ending in third place and locking up an eighth-straight playoff berth. The Sun failed to achieve their ultimate goal and advance to the WNBA Finals and win a championship, after losing to Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx, despite forcing a ‘winner take all’ Game 5 for all the marbles.
White joined the Sun in 2023 after five seasons on the collegiate level as head coach of the Vanderbilt Commadores. Prior to that, she spent six seasons with the Indiana Fever, becoming the Fever’s coach from 2015-16.
As for where she will call home next, there are a few options available to her. As of Saturday, White was reportedly speaking to multiple teams about her future, and was in talks with the Sun, the Fever and Chicago Sky, according to Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times. Indiana announced Sunday that the team had fired head coach Christie Sides, while the Sky fired Teresa Weatherspoon last month.
Rizzotti told ESPN that Connecticut will plan to hire a new head coach sometime in the next few weeks, saying that the team is looking for “some stability” and a long-term vision when hiring.
The organization will have several well-qualified candidates to choose from, as White leaving Connecticut marks the seventh head coaching vacancy so far this offseason, an unusually high number for the WNBA.
Other openings include the Washington Mystics, who relieved GM Mike Thibault and head coach Eric Thibault earlier this week, and the Dallas Wings, who fired Latricia Trammell earlier this month; additionally, the Los Angeles Sparks and Atlanta Dream also have vacancies after parting ways with Curt Miller and Tanisha Wright, respectively.