Prominent Coach Off Market, Taking North Carolina State Job

Not even a full day after Darian DeVries left West Virginia for Indiana, one of the top coaches on the market has been hired by another program. Reports indicate Will Wade will leave McNeese to take over at North Carolina State.

Wade, who was instantly brought up by some for the WVU job, is set to lead his team in the NCAA tournament against Clemson on Thursday. McNeese won the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships.

In the interest of being transparent with his current team, Wade admitted to talking with North Carolina State during his press conference on Wednesday.

“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,” he said. The news of his exit for a job in the ACC hit hours after his comments.

Wade has been a popular name on coaching hot boards the last two cycles after he flamed out at LSU following the 2021-22 season. He was let go from a successful five-year tenure with LSU over allegations of recruiting infractions that landed him a 10-game suspension. Since then, Wade has gone 49-8 at McNeese, with two conference championships and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to his LSU tenure, Wade served as VCU’s head coach from 2015-17 and with Chattanooga before that.

For a related story, WV Sports Now has put together our list of possible candidates to be the next WVU basketball head coach.