Will Wade reportedly accepted NC State job 1 day before coaching McNeese in March Madness

McNeese State head coach Will Wade has reportedly accepted the job of head coach at North Carolina State. But there is a big elephant in the room.

Wade, who has previously coached at VCU and and LSU, has led McNeese to the NCAA tournament two consecutive seasons. He was also named Southland Coach of the Year in 2024 and 2025. The former LSU coach (who was fired before March Madness in 2022) made plenty of sense as a candidate to replace Kevin Keatts as head coach at NC State.

But the key detail is that McNeese State (12) plays against Clemson (5) in the midwest region during the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament on Thursday.

According to multiple reports, Wade has "reached an agreement" to take over for the Wolfpack once the season concludes.

Wade is expected to continue coaching McNeese during March Madness and then NC State will finalize the deal.

To his credit, during his most recent press conference, Wade was candidly honest about whether or not he was in talks with NC State.

He told reporters that his players were aware other schools were talking to him and that he was fully transparent about this process.