Will Wade will sign six-year contract to coach NC State men’s basketball, reports say

N.C. State is apparently ready to make a long-term commitment to its next head men’s basketball coach.

According to News & Observer sources, school officials have reached an agreement to hire McNeese State head coach Will Wade to replace Kevin Keatts.

Saturday, after Wade’s Cowboys lost to Purdue in the the NCAA Tournament round of 32, multiple outlets reported that Wade’s deal with the Wolfpack will be for six years.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports was the first to report the contract length.

Wade, 42, will conclude his McNeese tenure with an overall record of 50-9 (.862), and a 36-2 record in Southland Conference games (.947). That includes wins and losses from the first 10 games of McNeese’s 2023-24 season, which Wade was suspended for as a result of Level I NCAA violations he committed while coaching at LSU.

The Cowboys made back-to-back NCAA Tournaments during Wade’s tenure.

Approached by the N&O postgame in Providence, Wade declined to discuss his future with NC State and said he wanted to keep the focus on McNeese.

He said the same during his postgame news conference.

“I’ll worry about that tomorrow,” Wade said, when asked about his next steps with NC State. “Look, I’m an honest guy but today I want to put a bow on everything with McNeese if we can. ... We’re not flying back until tomorrow morning. We’ll enjoy this here and when we get back, we’ll figure out next steps.”

How quickly will NC State and Will Wade move?

The process could (and almost certainly will) move quickly, for a couple of reasons.

Monday, the NCAA transfer portal formally opens for men’s basketball players. The portal window runs March 24-April 22 and is a critical roster-building tool for any coach — but especially a first-year coach such as Wade.

NC State and Wade aren’t just starting their talks, either. Wolfpack athletic director Boo Corrigan and Wade met in person ahead of the NCAA Tournament, per multiple reports. Wade himself has formally acknowledged that he and his agent have spoken with NC State and, in as many words, that this is his last season with McNeese.

Within the ACC, another program has moved with similar speed. Ryan Odom’s VCU team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. Fewer than 48 hours later, Virginia named Odom as its next coach on Saturday morning.

And Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas left after their regular-season finale to start his job as Miami’s new coach, skipping out on the ACC and NCAA tournaments to get a head start on building his new roster.

Miami had already formally hired Lucas before he left Duke, too.

Will Wade’s head coaching résumé

• Chattanooga, 2013-15: 40-25 (.615)
• VCU, 2015-17: 51-20 (.718), two NCAA Tournaments
• LSU, 2017-22: 105-51 (.673), three NCAA Tournaments
• McNeese: 50-9 (.701), two NCAA Tournaments
• Overall: 244-105 (.699), seven NCAA Tournaments

The State Sports Reporter Chapel Fowler contributed to this report.

This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 6:29 PM.