INDIANAPOLIS – Stephanie White smiled at the welcome she received Monday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Already an Indiana legend from her days at Seeger High School and Purdue as well as her playing career and previous coaching stint with the Indiana Fever, White is rejoining the franchise at a highly intriguing moment.

Announced as the new head coach Friday, White was re-introduced to the media Monday and immediately showed how comfortable she is in the job.

“This is coming home for me,” White said. “It has been such an experience with this franchise for nearly 25 years. From Day 1. And the opportunity to come home and to lead this young, exciting, talented team (was hard to pass on).”

The Fever fired former head coach Christie Sides after a 20-20 season and their first playoff appearance since 2016.

The move came as a shock until reports emerged White was the likely replacement.

White was 37-31 overall as Indiana’s head coach from 2015-16 and led the franchise back to the WNBA Finals in her first season.

She also was an assistant coach with the Fever from 2011-14, including the WNBA championship season of 2012.

“I know Stephanie,” Indiana president Kelly Krauskopf said. “I know how she is as a coach, and I saw what she did the two years she was here that she coached, and just the chance to have her come back and take over – there’s a lot of similarities in the way I’ve seen her play the game, the way she coaches the game, the way she communicates.”

Krauskopf also is returning to her role with the franchise after a brief absence.

She served as the Fever’s president from 2000-18 before joining the Indiana Pacers as assistant general manager and helping to found Pacers Gaming.

And White wasn’t the only new executive introduced Monday.

Amber Cox is taking over as general manager, with franchise icon Lin Dunn moving into a senior advisor role.

Like White, Cox was drawn to the job in part out of respect for Krauskopf and said it was an easy role to accept.

“This roster and what’s happening here in Indiana – these incredible players – it was a no-brainer,” she said

Three members of that roster were present for the press conference.

Center Aliyah Boston and guard Caitlin Clark – the last two WNBA No. 1 overall picks and rookie of the year award winners – were joined by guard Lexie Hull, a breakout star from the 2024 season.

The chance to coach Boston and Clark – and help them continue to grow into one of the league’s most dangerous tandems – is part of the reason White is feeling so much excitement.

“When you think about the great point guards and post players that our game, not just our league but our game, has seen, they are going to go down in history as the greatest,” White said. “And I’m excited about the opportunity to work with them. I’m excited about the opportunity that we have to build from those starting points and build out, and for the longevity that those two could have in Indiana, in Indianapolis and hanging banners in this building. All of those things are so exciting. The future’s really bright, and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

White noted the unprecedented growth the league experienced throughout the summer and talked about her memories of playing in the early years of the franchise for Dunn.

“I’m embracing this,” White said. “I will always embrace this. This is what we envisioned. It’s such an incredible opportunity.”

And it comes with a large dose of pressure.

Krauskopf signaled her intentions by hiring Cox and moving on from Sides.

Krauskopf was among the architects of the Fever’s 2012 championship team, and she returned to the job with the goal of maximizing the young talent on hand.

Krauskopf said the next moves for the franchise will come with the expansion draft in December. Then she’ll look forward to free agency and continuing to improve the roster.

White welcomes the high level of ambition.

“The future is so bright, and our ultimate goal is to hang another banner in the Fieldhouse,” White said. “And our ultimate goal is to come back here after we win that championship and celebrate again like we did in 2012.”