While the college basketball world is focused on the start of the 2025 NCAA Tournament this week, that hasn't stopped the coaching carousel from spinning into overdrive already. First came Indiana, which poached Darian DeVries from West Virginia on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it was NC State's turn, as 247Sports has confirmed that the Wolfpack are set to hire McNeese State head coach Will Wade.
BREAKING: Will Wade has reached an agreement to become the next NC State men's basketball head coach, @PackPride sources confirmed 🚨
— 247Sports (@247Sports) March 19, 2025
Earlier today, he spoke with @AdamFinkelstein on what a program would need to get him to move on to his next job
✍️: https://t.co/EYLH8forgS pic.twitter.com/n7nkK4Ozxx
Wade has been a name at the forefront of just about every coaching search this cycle, and it's not hard to see why: He's won more games over the past two years at McNeese (57) than the program had won in the five years prior to his arrival combined (56). He was rumored to be one of the frontrunners for the Indiana job, and when the Hoosiers went elsewhere, NC State jumped at the opportunity.
And we do mean jumped. The news comes just 24 hours or so before the 12-seed Cowboys are set to take on 5-seed Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon. While it might seem a bit tasteless for word of a coaching hire to get out just 24 hours or so before that coach's team plays in the Big Dance, the reality is that the transfer portal has fundamentally reshaped college basketball.
This sort of timing will likely be the norm going forward; Wade himself was nothing if not honest about his interest in the NC State job during his media availability just before word of the hire broke.
Will Wade asked if he or his agent have talked to N.C. State about the program's head coach opening.
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) March 19, 2025
He answers, simply, "Yes."
The portal has made it paramount that teams find clarity with their coaching situations as soon as possible, making sure that both current players and prospective transfers know exactly who will be leading the program moving forward. And it also presents both Wade and his new school with a unique opportunity, one that could kickstart the rebuild in Raleigh before it even technically begins.
Upset of Clemson would be perfect catapult into NC State job for Will Wade
Less than a year ago, the Wolfpack were the darlings of the Big Dance, riding the duo of DJ Horne and DJ Burns Jr. to an improbable Final Four run. But that March magic papered over what was a program in decline under Kevin Keatts, and with both Horne and Burns Jr. gone, things bottomed out with a 12-19 record in 2024-25.
This is a tradition-rich program, though, one with plenty of resources and a convenient location to access talented recruits. There's no reason that NC State can't get back to being among the more competitive teams in the ACC; maybe not in the Duke/UNC, but not too far below it ... which just so happens to be exactly where the team Wade will be facing on Thursday has positioned itself under head coach Brad Brownell.
Clemson was never much known for success in basketball, but Brownell has them back in the tourney this season after guiding the Tigers to the Elite 8 last year. If Wade is going to get NC State back to where its fan base believes it should be, Clemson is exactly the sort of team he's going to have to beat with regularity, which makes this first-round matchup such a fascinating audition. Granted, if McNeese loses, Wade can point to the obvious resource disparity between the two programs. But if Wade leads the Cowboys to an upset, it'll provide the Wolfpack with proof positive that they've got the guy they need to turn this thing around.