McNeese's Will Wade reportedly reaches deal to take NC State coaching job, sources tell ESPN

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WTVD) -- McNeese's Will Wade has reached an agreement to become the next head coach at NC State, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Wade acknowledged earlier Wednesday that he has had contact with NC State regarding its head coaching vacancy.

NC State fired Kevin Keatts on March 9, less than one year after Keatts led the Wolfpack to the Final Four but after one of the worst seasons in school history.

Wade is in his second season at McNeese, whose team is a No. 12 seed in the Midwest Region, and faces No. 5 Clemson on Thursday at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence (TruTV, 3:15 p.m. ET).

The news is expected to be made official following McNeese's exit from the tournament.

"There's no need to hide it. The guys are reading it on social media. It's no secret and I'm not going to ask them to do something I'm not willing to do," Wade said in a news conference before the team's 30-minute light practice.

"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 added.

Asked specifically about NC State and if he or those close to him have been in contact with NC State, he said directly, "Yes."

Wade, 42, has earned Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons. McNeese's 57 wins over his two-year tenure are the most in a two-year span in the 82-year history of the program.

Wade's last high-major job was at LSU, where he was fired in March of 2022 in the wake of LSU receiving a notice of allegations from the NCAA.

LSU fired Wade on the eve of the NCAA tournament back in 2022 after the school received a notice of allegations from the NCAA detailing five Level I violations and a Level II violation involving Wade. He was also suspended shortly before the 2019 NCAA tournament after reports revealed that a federal wiretap captured him discussing a "strong-ass offer" for a recruit.

He was ultimately given a two-year show-cause order and a 10-game suspension in June 2023 for three Level I violations, after being found to have made impermissible payments to the former fiancee of a player, while also failing to cooperate in an investigation and failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance.

Before taking over at LSU, Wade was the head coach at VCU for two seasons, winning 51 games and a regular-season title. He led the Rams to the NCAA tournament in both seasons. He also spent two seasons at Chattanooga, going 27-7 in SoCon play during his time with the Mocs.

On Wednesday, he spoke candidly with reporters about discussing vacant jobs at other schools, relating it to players and the transfer portal.

"I told our coaching staff last year, I don't want to hear any complaining about calling kids in the portal while we're at the NCAA tournament because half the coaching staffs in the country, those assistants are trying to get other jobs, too," he said.

"So if they're trying to get other jobs, why can't the kids go try to get other jobs? It just makes intuitive sense to me."

NC State is coming off a 12-19 season, which included a 5-15 record in the ACC.

As for No. 12 McNeese's game against No. 5 Clemson, Wade (Clemson, Class of 2005) detailed his affinity for his alma mater.

While coaches tend to downplay personal connections to games, Wade leaned in. He said his players know that they don't practice during Clemson games, and they had to adjust McNeese's pregame schedule earlier this year to accommodate Clemson's ACC title game.

He admitted that things got "a little hairy" for his rooting interest when he was coaching at LSU and it played Clemson for the national title. He noted that McNeese assistant Vernon Hamilton is a former star player at the school and worked for Clemson coach Brad Brownell.

Wade said he looks forward to Clemson football game days.

"I get nervous," Wade said of watching Clemson football. "Yeah, I get nervous, and I follow it. I follow the recruiting closely. I follow (the) big recruiting weekend a couple weekends ago. I follow all that stuff pretty closely. So I've gotten better as the years go on. Of course, winning a couple national championships helps too."

He added that he doesn't criticize Dabo Swinney: "I don't rip the coaching. I know how hard coaching is."

ESPN and The Associated Press contributed.