Purdue, 1999
• 1998 Third Team Academic All-America®
• 1999 First Team Academic All-America®
• 1999 Academic All-America® of the Year - Women's Basketball
Stephanie White was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame in 2017.
Following a decorated college career at Purdue and a standout professional career in the WNBA, White has continued her professional achievements as a successful women's basketball coach at both the professional and collegiate levels.
Currently, White serves as head coach of the Vanderbilt women's basketball team. She was named to the position in May of 2016, becoming just the fifth all-time head coach in the history of the Vanderbilt program.
In high school, White was named National Prep Player-of-the-Year by Gatorade, Parade magazine and USA Today as a senior at Seeger Memorial High School (West Lebanon, Ind.), and parlayed those distinctions into an outstanding collegiate career.
She was the NCAA's Player of the Year on Purdue's NCAA national championship team in 1999, and then, as a professional, led her WNBA Indiana Fever team into the finals in her first year of competition.
At Purdue, White averaged double-figure scoring in all four seasons of her college career, scoring 2,182 points which included a 20.2 points per game scoring average as a senior as she led Purdue to the NCAA title. That season, she also received the Wade Trophy (given to the nation's top female player) and was named Big Ten Conference Player of the Year. Earning multiple All-America honors as a junior and senior, she was a four-year All-Big Ten selection. Her college coach was Carolyn Peck, former Vanderbilt star and now the Commodores' associate coach.
White was inducted into the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame on April 21, 2006.
White also was a classroom standout. Earning Phi Beta Kappa honors, she was selected Academic All-America twice with third team (1998) and first team (1999) recognition. As a senior, she was named the 1999 Academic All-America of the Year for women's basketball (university division). White graduated from Purdue with a degree in communications (public relations).
Prior to coaching, White enjoyed a productive five-year WNBA career, spending one season with the Charlotte Sting and four with the Indiana Fever, before retiring in 2004. She was named to the Fever's All-Decade Team that was announced in 2009.
After her WNBA playing days, she turned to coaching in the collegiate ranks, serving as an assistant at Toledo (2005-07), Kansas State (2004-05) and Ball State (2003-04).
She began coaching in the WNBA in 2007 and also served as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and the Big Ten Network. An assistant coach with the Chicago Sky from 2007-2010, she then joined the Fever staff and was promoted to associate head coach in 2014 before being named head coach after Lin Dunn's retirement. In 2015, she guided the Fever to the WNBA finals, becoming the first rookie coach in league history to lead a team to the finals.