Indiana Fever send message to coach after major personal announcement

The Indiana Fever is amid a strong season, and they are continuing to battle for a top-three seed ahead of the playoffs. A big reason for the team’s success is Stephanie White and her coaching staff, including assistant coaches Austin Kelly and Karima Christmas-Kelly. The team sent a message to them on Wednesday following a huge announcement.

Kelly played college football for the Duke Blue Devils from 2007 to 2010. He started his coaching career in 2018 as Georgia Tech’s graduate assistant and assistant scouting coordinator. The former wide receiver then moved to Vanderbilt as its director of recruiting in 2019 before becoming UT Arlington’s assistant coach. His first WNBA coaching gig was with the Connecticut Sun in 2023 and 2024.

Christmas-Kelly, on the other hand, entered the league as the No. 23 overall pick in 2011. She last played in the 2020 season with the Minnesota Lynx. The 36-year-old joined Indiana in 2023 as an assistant coach. She and Kelly met as student-athletes at Duke and got married in 2017.

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White talks with the media before the game against the Minnesota Lynx.

Indiana Fever posts message for assistant coaches

The Fever shared on Instagram on Wednesday that Kelly and Christmas-Kelly welcomed a daughter, Kali. She is their second child. Indiana posted two photos along with a message for the couple.

“welcome to the Fever fam, Kali! congrats to assistant coaches Karima Christmas-Kelly and Austin Kelly on the newest addition to their family ,” the team wrote.

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The Fever are in the middle of the WNBA’s FIBA World Cup break. Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston are part of Team USA and have been consistent contributors in its quest to win its fifth straight world championship.

Indiana will return to action Sept. 18 against the Toronto Tempo. The team is currently fifth in the standings with four games remaining. Its goal is to beat the Las Vegas Aces and Atlanta Dream for the No. 3 seed, placing the Fever in a strong position for the playoffs.