Will Wade reportedly accepted NC State job 1 day before coaching McNeese in March Madness

[ASFN Admin]

McNeese State head coach Will Wade has reportedly accepted the job of head coach at North Carolina State. But there is a big elephant in the room.

Wade, who has previously coached at VCU and and LSU, has led McNeese to the NCAA tournament two consecutive seasons. He was also named Southland Coach of the Year in 2024 and 2025. The former LSU coach (who was fired before March Madness in 2022) made plenty of sense as a candidate to replace Kevin Keatts as head coach at NC State.

But the key detail is that McNeese State (12) plays against Clemson (5) in the midwest region during the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament on Thursday.

McNeese's Will Wade has reached an agreement to become the next head coach at NC State, sources confirmed to ESPN. First reported by @gigliG. Wade has won 57 games over the last two seasons at McNeese, went to five NCAA tournaments at LSU and VCU.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 19, 2025

According to multiple reports, Wade has "reached an agreement" to take over for the Wolfpack once the season concludes.

Wade is expected to continue coaching McNeese during March Madness and then NC State will finalize the deal.

Will Wade on rumors of other schools contacting him: “I lay it all out there to my players, and my players have laid it all out there to me. We are transparent. We’ve shared it all with each other.”

On if he’s talked with NC State about their head coaching vacancy: “Yes.” pic.twitter.com/Ac9w53zaf7

— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 19, 2025

To his credit, during his most recent press conference, Wade was candidly honest about whether or not he was in talks with NC State.

He told reporters that his players were aware other schools were talking to him and that he was fully transparent about this process.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: NC State reportedly hires Will Wade day before March Madness coaching

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