On Thursday afternoon in Providence, Rhode Island, Will Wade will lead his 12-seeded Southland Champion McNeese State Cowboys against his alma mater, Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In his second season, the former LSU head coach is looking to lead the Cowboys on a Cinderella run, but, on Wednesday, Wade reportedly became the next head coach of last year’s Cinderella story.
McNeese's Will Wade has reached an agreement to become the next head coach at NC State, sources confirmed to ESPN. First reported by @giglio_OG. 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
NC State set to hire former LSU head coach Will Wade away from McNeese State
NC State missed the NCAA Tournament one year after its improbable Final Four run and finally did what it was planning to do this time last season, firing head coach Kevin Keatts. Keatts had led the Wolfpack since 2017, the same year that Wade was hired as the head man in Baton Rouge.
After successful two-year stints at Chattanooga and VCU, Wade quickly got into hot water as the head coach of the Tigers. He managed to lead the program to a regular season SEC title and three NCAA Tournament appearances over his five years as head coach, but the entire tenure was embroiled in scandal and NCAA investigation.
Wade and LSU eventually parted ways in 2022 after the NCAA levied sanctions against both he and the program for the illegal payment of players. The good news for Wade is that practice is not only legal in the NIL era, but it's pretty much the No. 1 requirement to build a successful Power Conference program.
So, after Wade got back on his feet and turned McNeese State into a Southland powerhouse and popular March Madness upset pick, it was no surprise that he began to emerge as a hot name on the coaching carousel.
NC State is desperate to compete with North Carolina and Duke in the ACC, and outside of the inexplicable lightning-in-a-bottle season, it never happens. Wade is the type of coach who could change that. He plays an efficient up-tempo style, recruits elite athletes, and most importantly, he’s a top-notch fundraiser. The Wolfpack had to swing big and with Indiana hiring Darian DeVries away from West Virginia, NC State was Wade’s best option.
McNeese State knew that Wade was out the door after this year, but now that it’s public information before their first-round matchup on Thursday, it will be interesting to see how the Cowboys respond.
With players already pouring into the transfer portal, it’s important for coaches to move quickly when they have a job lined up. A similar thing happened earlier this month when Jai Lucas left Duke’s staff to take over at Miami. Being prepared to build a roster through the transfer portal is too important not to get a head start.
However, the NCAA must find a solution to the transfer portal timeline because the only thing that could ruin March Madness is head coaches and players departing midway through. Wade will stay and coach the Cowboys, but that may be the inevitable next step after this unusually expedited hiring process.