Stephanie White Vanderbilt coaching career - Know more about new Fever HC’s college stint
Stephanie White will return to the Indiana Fever as their head coach, eight years after resigning from the same role. Instead of staying in the WNBA, she took her first and only head coaching job in college basketball, joining the Vanderbilt Commodores on May 23, 2016, following the resignation of Melanie Balcomb.
White became only the fifth coach in Commodores history, spending five seasons at the helm. Before she arrived at Vanderbilt, the program struggled as it finished the previous season 11th in the SEC with a 5-11 conference record and 18-14 overall and missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row.
White struggled in her first season at Vanderbilt, with the Commodores tallying a 4-12 conference record and 14-16 overall, once again finishing 11th in the SEC. Her second season was worse, as the Commodores managed just three wins against opponents from the conference and seven wins in total. Their 3-13 conference record was tied for 12th with the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Florida Gators.
White's third season was her worst, record-wise, as the Commodores finished last in the SEC with a 2-14 conference record and 7-23 overall. They slightly improved in the 2019-20 season, matching the record set in her maiden campaign.
Her final season with the Commodores was cut short by the pandemic. The team had a 4-4 overall record and 0-3 in-conference before it was announced that she would not return to the program on April 6, 2021. She was replaced by Shea Ralph, who led them to the NCAA Tournament in her first season.
Stephanie White excelled in recruitment at Vanderbilt
Although Stephanie White failed to bring the Commodores back to March Madness during her tenure, she displayed her talents in recruitment alongside her staff. In her first four seasons, Kayla Overbeck (2016-17), Erin Whalen (2016-17), Chelsie Hall (2017-18), Brinae Alexander (2018-19) and Koi Love (2019-20) all earned spots in the SEC All-Freshman team.
Christa Reed and Rachel Bell also thrived under White, etching their names into the exclusive 1,000 points club and the Hall at the Commodores.