NC State fires basketball coach Kevin Keatts after historic fall from Final Four run
Less than a year after a historic run to its first ACC title in 37 years — and its first trip to the Final Four since 1983 — N.C. State fired men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts on Sunday, one day removed from the conclusion of one of the most lackluster title defense seasons on record.
Keatts’ dismissal comes after the Wolfpack missed the 2025 ACC Tournament, going 12-19 overall and 5-15 in conference play, one season removed from winning the conference championship with a remarkable five-game run and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
The team did not win a game away from Raleigh during the 2024-25 season after blowing a 13-point lead against Miami — the worst team in the conference — in Saturday’s finale.
“I want to thank Coach Keatts for his contributions to N.C. State and for always representing the university with class,” Wolfpack Athletic Director Boo Corrigan said in a statement. “He will always have a treasured place in Wolfpack history for the accomplishments of his 2023-24 squad, and I appreciate the passion he brought to this role. We wish him and his family the best in the future.”
Keatts, who just completed his eighth season at N.C. State, posted an overall record of 151-113 with the Pack, finishing 69-84 in ACC play. His teams earned three NCAA Tournament bids during his time in Raleigh.
In a statement posted on social media, Keatts said he was “officially entering the portal” and he thanked former athletics director Debbie Yow for hiring him in 2017.
“The last eight years have been a dream come true, and I will always cherish my time being a part of the Raleigh community,” Keatts said. “I want to thank Debbie Yow for giving me this tremendous opportunity to lead the Wolfpack back to the top of the ACC. Her leadership and vision brought so many great coaches to N.C. State.”
But in 2024-25, N.C. State never found a rhythm, and couldn’t finish close games. It held second-half leads in 15 of its 20 ACC games and 10 of its 15 losses. Eight losses were within one possession under four minutes to play, and the team possessed a lead down the stretch in five.
This season also included a nine-game losing streak, which was the longest under Keatts’ leadership and tied the longest skid in program history.
In his statement, Keatts mentioned that he took over a Wolfpack program that became the target of an NCAA investigation during his first season because of payments to former player Dennis Smith, Jr., during former coach Mark Gottfried’s tenure broke NCAA rules. That investigation, stemming from the FBI probe into college basketball that ensnared schools around country, took years to play out before penalties were assessed.
When that was clear, Keatts led the Wolfpack to consecutive NCAA tournament appearances in 2023 and 2024 before this season’s collapse.
As he has consistently said in recent days, Keatts questioned how committed N.C. State administration is to properly funding the program now that NIL and revenue sharing to players will be in place.
“As we enter this new era of college sports,” Keatts said, “I wholeheartedly believe that I am leaving the program in better position to succeed than when I started — and that the basketball program will continue to thrive when supported to the level necessary to compete.”
Dontrez Styles, who transferred to N.C. State last summer, two stops removed from playing for rival North Carolina, expressed support for his head coach after the team defeated Pitt, 71-63, on senior night last Wednesday.
“At the end of the day, we got to go out there and play. I feel like it’s on us,” Styles said. “He’s a great coach, and it’s on us. We got to go out there and play better. We did it tonight, and we want to continue to do that.”
Keatts was on the hot seat a year ago after the Pack lost four in a row to end the regular season. It was 17-14 overall and 9-11 in the conference before winning the 2024 ACC Championship and making the program’s first Final Four appearance since 1983.
The team’s efforts last postseason helped Keatts earn a 2-year contract extension, a $400,000 bonus, and a $500,000 increase to his base salary. The Pack was a No. 11 seed, and finished No. 10 in the final AP Top 25 poll.
Casey Morsell, DJ Horne and DJ Burns also defended Keatts and the program last season during the ACC Tournament.
“That man has put this group together. He believed in it,” Morsell said on March 16, 2024, after winning the championship. “The fact that throughout all the good times, all the bad times; he stayed mellow. He tried a lot of different things, sometimes it didn’t work, but we got going at the right time, everything came together at the right time. That’s a good man right there.”
Burns — following N.C. State’s win over Duke two days prior — shared a similar sentiment.
“In games like this, you see the teams that everyone else cheers for; you feel like everybody’s rooting against you,” Burns said. “Everybody expects you to lose, but not him. He’s a great leader. He led us right through. That’s all we could ask for. He led us right through.”
Keatts expressed frustration this season with name, image and likeness rule changes and the transactional nature of recruiting. He said last week, with money involved, coaches have to be extra mindful of who they recruit. Programs might have banners, nice facilities and good coaches, but players want to know how much money they’ll get. Will the return on investment and fit match the money?
“What I’m looking for is somebody that wants to compete, and the money matches their competition; how they play, because you can go different ways,” Keatts said.
“I get the question all the time, ‘Why didn’t we capitalize (on the Final Four)?’” he added. “NIL has been tough here at N.C. State. I think it will get better once we get to revenue sharing and it’s more in house and we can dictate where the money goes. I’m actually excited about that part of it, because I think it’ll give us a better chance to compete.”
Bowling Green transfer Marcus Hill said after N.C. State’s win against Pitt on senior night he planned to return next season. He thanked Keatts and the assistants for recruiting him.
It’s unclear now if Hill will remain with the program through the coaching change.
Under Keatts, 15 players earned spots on professional rosters, including three from last season.
Keatts came to N.C. State after three seasons at UNC-Wilmington, where he compiled a 72-28 overall record and went 41-13 in the then-Colonial Athletic Conference.
This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 10:15 AM.
