Is Will Wade coming to NC State basketball? The McNeese coach addressed it Wednesday
Update: For the latest update on NC State basketball and Will Wade, read this story.
Will Wade didn’t shy away from anything Wednesday.
Ahead of his team’s opening NCAA Tournament game, the McNeese State coach was candid in discussing any and all things related to his future at the school.
Including his discussions with NC State, which fired Kevin Keatts earlier this season and has reportedly zeroed in on Wade as its next men’s basketball coach.
Have Wade and/or his agents talked with NC State?
“Yes,” Wade said.
How has he addressed that with his team?
“We addressed it head on,” Wade said.
Why is he so honest about the possibility of him leaving McNeese and taking another job, a topic other coaches would shy away from or avoid completely?
“I’ve always kind of been like that,” Wade said. “There’s no need to hide it. The guys are reading it on social media. It’s no secret. ... They can read right through the BS, so you might as well say, ‘Hey, this is what it is. Here we are, and we’ll figure it out.’”
His comments added further intrigue to the NC State-Wade possibility ahead of the No. 12 Cowboys’ opening NCAA Tournament game against No. 5 Clemson at Amica Mutual Pavilion (3:15 p.m., truTV).
The News & Observer also confirmed on Wednesday that NC State has “agreed to hire” Wade as its next coach. Final details will be ironed out and an official announcement made once McNeese’s season ends.
Multiple national and local outlets had reported that the Wolfpack and athletic director Boo Corrigan had zeroed in on Wade as their next head coach after meeting with him in person in recent weeks.
Wade, 42, has led McNeese to consecutive Southland Conference tournament championships and NCAA Tournament automatic bids. He has a career winning percentage of .700 and has won 20-plus games at least once at each of his four Division I head coaching stops (also Chattanooga, VCU and LSU).
His most recent stop at McNeese, located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, has served as comeback tour for a coach who was fired at LSU after NCAA dinged the school for seven Level I violations related to its men’s basketball program.
The gist of Wade’s violations, per ESPN, was that he “arranged for, offered and/or provided impermissible payments, including cash payments, to at least 11 men’s basketball prospective student-athletes” and their families/colleagues in exchange for them committing to the Tigers.
Wade served a 10-game suspension during his first season at McNeese as a result of those violations. But in the name, image and likeness era of the sport where players will soon be directly compensated by their schools, Wade’s past baggage has taken a back seat to his coaching acumen.
He’s been a big name in the coaching carousel in back-to-back years, having gone 49-8 (.860) overall and 36-2 (.947) in conference games he’s coached for McNeese.
As reports emerged that NC State was zeroing in on Wade as its next coach, donations to the school’s NIL collective soared. Other reported Wolfpack candidates included New Mexico’s Richard Pitino, Tennessee assistant and former NC State player Justin Gainey and VCU’s Ryan Odom.
Wade said he addressed his situation with McNeese’s team Saturday.
“It was just me and our players and we all talked about it,” Wade said. “I’m aware of what I have got going on. They’re aware of what we’ve got going on. ... We’re all on the same page with everything.”
McNeese’s coach added that his sole focus at this point is the NCAA Tournament and making a run. His Cowboys are a 7.5-point underdog to No. 5 seed Clemson.
“Last year we were giddy about just being here and it was almost like a field trip,” said Wade, whose McNeese team was also a No. 12 seed and lost its opening NCAA Tournament game to No. 5 Gonzaga. “This year it’s much more about our business and about, ‘Hey, let’s see if we can do the things we need to do to try to win a game.’”
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 1:58 PM.
