Former LSU and current NC State coach Will Wade has been the center of rumors speculating about his return to Baton Rouge – rumors he emphatically shot down after the Wolfpack’s 81-74 loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
“Is the job open there? Huh? No? So why… Listen, to be very clear, I am excited at NC State,” Wade said in response to a reporter’s question. “I was hired at NC State to do a job – this wasn’t going to take one year. I have already met with our administration about next year and some of the changes we need to make and some of the things we need to do to put this program where it deserves long term.
“I’m not on social media, I’m not into gossip and into any sort of that stuff. We are going to win and we are going to win big at NC State. That’s what we are going to do moving forward. We have the resources we need for me and my staff to get the job done. This year hasn’t gone exactly how we wanted it to, but we are going to rally and have a team next year that is ready to roll.”
Wade, who coached at LSU from 2017 to 2022 but was embroiled in a federal investigation into illegal recruiting for the majority of his tenure before being fired, coached at McNeese from 2023-25 before catching on with NC State for the 2025 season.
The Wolfpack’s season ended with a 20-13 overall record and a 10-8 mark in ACC play. NC State downed Pitt 98-88 in the first round of the ACC Tournament before falling Thursday to the 10th-ranked Cavaliers.
LSU finished the season 15-17 and lost to Kentucky 87-82 on Wednesday in the first round of the SEC Tournament under coach Matt McMahon – who is 60-69 in four seasons in Baton Rouge.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
