Kevin Keatts fired: 5 NC State basketball head coach candidates
Will Wade
Wade might be the hottest name among head-coaching candidates and could move on from McNeese sooner rather than later. Wade was an assistant at multiple programs while beginning his coaching career in the mid-2000s, including Clemson, Harvard and VCU, before becoming a head coach at Chattanooga. He soon returned to VCU, leading the Rams to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances before doing the same three times in five years at LSU. Wade won over 100 games overall in Baton Rouge, leading potent offenses while bringing in high-level recruits. Recruiting violations got him fired, but he has rehabbed his value at McNeese, taking the Cowboys to the NCAA Tournament last year while leading them to 25 wins in 2024-25. The recruiting scandal is a blemish, but it鈥檚 hard to find a candidate with more upside than Wade.
