RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN/AP) – North Carolina State has found its next men’s basketball coach.
McNeese State coach Will Wade reached a deal to lead the Wolfpack starting next season, becoming the 21st coach in program history, sources told CBS 17 on Wednesday.
No details have been released yet concerning Wade’s contract, and his move to Raleigh will be formally announced once the Cowboys lose in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, sources said.
Wade’s team, which enters tournament play as the No. 12 seed in the Midwest Region, plays against No. 5 seed Clemson in the first round on Thursday at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.
Earlier on Wednesday, the second-year McNeese coach addressed the rumors directly, confirming talks between his representatives and N.C. State about its vacant head coaching position.
“Yes,” Wade said when asked whether he or someone close to him made contact with N.C. State about its job opening.
N.C. State fired coach Kevin Keatts on March 9, an abrupt end to an eight-year tenure that saw the program’s fall this year prove too much to overcome even when framed against last season’s remarkable finish. The announcement came a day after the Wolfpack closed a 12-19 season and failed to even qualify for the ACC Tournament as the reigning champion.
Though he didn’t elaborate on the extent of his contact with N.C. State, Wade’s name has since been linked to the Wolfpack job and other schools after finishing up his second straight 20-win season at McNeese that ended with an NCAA tourney berth. The Cowboys enter this year’s tournament with 27-6 record and fresh off their second straight Southland Conference championship. He previously spent five seasons at LSU, two seasons at VCU and two at Chattanooga.
Wade, 42, said he’s always tried to be transparent with both his assistants and players during this time of year.
“Just tell it like it is,” Wade said. “You may not always like what I’m going to say, but I’m going to tell you what I think. I’ve always kind of been like that, and there’s no need to hide it. The guys are reading it on social media. It’s no secret. I’m not going to ask them to do something I’m not willing to do. It’s no good if you don’t address it and if you sit there and BS them. They can read right through the BS, so you might as well. Hey, this is what it is. Here we are, and we’ll figure it out.”
