Report: Will Wade Agrees to NC State Contract Ahead of McNeese March Madness Opener

McNeese State head coach Will Wade has agreed to a deal with North Carolina State on the eve of the Cowboys' NCAA tournament first-round matchup, according to Joe Giglio of OG Media.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello confirmed Giglio's report.

Wade told reporters Wednesday that his representatives had conversed with Wolfpack officials.

"There's no need to hide it. The guys are reading it on social media," he said. "It's no secret and 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 'em. They know. They can read right through the BS. So you might as well just [say] 'This is what it is.'"

Wade is striking while the iron is hot after having rebuilt his coaching stock at McNeese State.

The 42-year-old was fired by LSU in March 2022 after he was ensnared in the FBI's wide probe into corruption across college basketball. His ouster came following a notice of allegations from the NCAA.

McNeese hired Wade a year later, coincidentally on the same date (March 12) LSU fired him. The NCAA leveled a 10-game suspension and a two-year show-cause penalty against him that June.

The Cowboys' record in 2023-24 improved by 19 wins and they advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002. This season brought another Southland Conference title and berth in the Big Dance, so it was only a matter of time before Wade moved on to greener pastures.

For NC State, he was the top candidate on the board.

The Wolfpack will hope Wade can revive a program that tailed off under his predecessor, Kevin Keatts. The fact that Keatts is gone one year after guiding NC State to the Final Four is a sign of how the unexpected run last March papered over wider cracks.

This season, NC State slumped to a 12-19 record and won just five games in the ACC. Only three times in Keatts' eight years did the Wolfpack finish better than .500 in the conference. That's simply not going to cut it for a school with their basketball aspirations.

Even with seven seniors on the squad set to graduate, fans will be expecting immediate results in 2025-26. The roster turnover will allow Wade and his staff to aggressively hit the transfer portal for reinforcements, and they have a 4-star signee in center Zymicah Wilkins.

It's too early to start making plans to hang another Final Four banner in the rafters of Lenovo Center, but qualifying for the 2026 NCAA tournament is likely to be an attainable goal for Wade in Year 1.