MONTVILLE, Conn — Connecticut Sun Head Coach Stephanie White was named Associated Press Coach of The Year on Tuesday. This honor marks White’s first AP accolade of her WNBA coaching career.
After inheriting a veteran core group, plus five Sun newcomers, White led the Sun to a franchise-record 27 wins in her first season at the helm of the program. She was named the May WNBA Coach of the Month after beginning the year with a 4-1 record, which marked the best start by a Connecticut Sun head coach in his or her first season in franchise history. White was also named one of the two 2023 WNBA All-Star Head Coaches after guiding the Sun to the second-best record in the WNBA as of June 30 (12-4).
Faced with adversity after 2x WNBA All-Star and reigning WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, Brionna Jones, went down with a season-ending Achilles injury in mid-June, the Sun, under White’s guidance, still finished the season third overall in the WNBA standings (27-13) and second overall in Eastern Conference play (14-6). With 27 wins on the season, she also finished the year 23rd all-time in wins in WNBA history with 64 career wins (including her two seasons with the Indiana Fever from 2015-2016).
White joins Atlanta Dream Head Coach Tanisha Wright as the only two former WNBA players to be recognized as the AP Coach of the Year. This also marks the third time in franchise history the head coach of the Connecticut Sun has achieved AP Coach of the Year honors (Curt Miller 2017, 2021).
White and the Connecticut Sun are back in action on Wednesday, September 13 at 8 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena when they take on the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs.
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