Who could replace Kevin Keatts as NC State basketball coach? Some possible candidates
N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan did not wait to fire basketball coach Kevin Keatts, making the announcement Sunday.
The question now: Who’s next and how quickly will Corrigan replace Keatts?
N.C. State said it will conduct a national search to find Keatts’ replacement, and some of the names of coaches expected to be mentioned in the conversation include:
Will Wade, McNeese State
The former head coach at LSU, VCU and Chattanooga won an SEC regular-season championship at LSU. Wade, 42, has been named coach of the year in the Southern Conference and Southland Conference. McNeese won the Southland championship last season and finished first in the regular season this season with a 19-1 record.
Wade’s career took a step back after the 2017 FBI investigation into college basketball irregularities. He was fired by LSU in March 2022 following NCAA allegations concerning recruiting violations.
Ryan Odom, Virginia Commonwealth
The son of former Wake Forest coach Dave Odom, he has gone 49-19 in two seasons at VCU, with an NIT appearance last year. The Rams were 15-2 in the Atlantic 10 this season.
Odom, 50, was at Utah State for two seasons before the move to VCU, taking the Aggies to the NCAA tournament. He got that job after leading UMBC to one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history – the 16th-seeded Retrievers knocking off No. 1 seed Virginia in 2018, becoming the first No. 16 seed to win.
Richard Pitino, New Mexico
The son of St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, he has been head coach at FIU, Minnesota and since 2021 at New Mexico. Pitino, 42, twice took Minnesota to the NCAA tournament and won the 2014 NIT title. New Mexico was 26-10 and in the NCAAs last season and Lobos are 25-6 this season and were 17-3 in the Mountain West Conference.
Justin Gainey, Tennessee
The former Wolfpack point guard is associate head coach on Rick Barnes’ staff with the Vols. Gainey, 47, played at NCSU under Herb Sendek and was later the Pack’s director of basketball operations. Gainey was assistant head coach for Steve Wojciechowski at Marquette before moving to Tennessee in 2021.
Archie Miller, Rhode Island
Another former Wolfpack guard and an assistant coach, Miller was head coach at Dayton and Indiana before Rhode Island. At Dayton, Flyers were in the NCAA tournament his last four seasons, reaching a regional final in 2014. Miller, 46, was at Indiana for four seasons, not reaching the NCAAs, before being dismissed in 2017.
This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 1:56 PM.
