Stephanie White Shares Strategy to Avoid Caitlin Clark Injury Repeat

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White spoke about the right approach to getting Caitlin Clark physically ready for the upcoming WNBA season.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks on with head coach Stephanie White | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

There's a lot of optimism about what the Indiana Fever might do in this 2026 WNBA season. And much of that optimism stems from the fact that the Fever game within one game of advancing to the WNBA Finals last season, despite star guard Caitlin Clark being sidelined with an injury.

Indiana's front office did a great job bringing the key players from that 2025 roster back, including Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, and Sophie Cunningham, while also adding additional pieces like Monique Billings, Myisha Hines-Allen, and Raven Johnson via the WNBA Draft.

But the key for Indiana to reach its potential is Caitlin Clark staying healthy. The Fever's coaching staff knows this better than anybody else and understands that they need to be strategic in ensuring Clark isn't just prepared for opening night against the Dallas Wings, but that she's fit to perform throughout the entire season, including the playoffs.

Caitlin Clark | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Stephanie White Emphasizes 'Smart' Approach With Caitlin Clark Ahead of Season

Fever head coach Stephanie White did an April 16 interview with "Query & Company" and was asked about what the process to acclimate Clark back to game action will be like.

“Yeah, I think it’s new for everybody. I think we’ve got to be smart. She has worked her butt off this whole offseason to prepare herself. We have an added advantage in that she played games in March, right, with USA Basketball. And so she has game exposure, she has game pace, she has game rhythm, she has game timing, and so we have an advantage," White said in the interview.

"But we also want to be smart. She doesn’t need every rep in practice. Like, we want to continue to ramp her up. You know, it’s a long season, 44 games, and we play a heavy cadence of games in a week. And so we want to be smart in camp, and make sure we—I don't want to say ease her into it, because she's ready for camp—but we want to make sure that we manage the reps, and what kinds of reps she’s getting, just to build her up so that she’s ready to go, and we don’t have any kind of questions about that," White continued.

Stephanie White on ensuring Caitlin Clark is physically ready for the Fever’s upcoming season

“We have an added advantage in that she played games in March.”

🎥: @Query_Company pic.twitter.com/LEBOT1qjjR

— Grant Young (@GrvntYoung) April 16, 2026

This seems like the correct approach from the Fever's coaching and training staff to put Clark in as good a place as possible. It will be fun to see how far Indiana can go if the team can keep No. 22 on the court.