NC State thought it found its long-term solution at head coach in Will Wade, but it turns out he was never fully committed to the program.
Wade signed a six-year contract with NC State in March 2025. The Wolfpack ultimately finished this season with a loss in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. A little over a week after wrapping up his first year in the ACC, he agreed to a deal that'll make him LSU's next head coach.
LSU fired head coach Matt McMahon to make room for Wade. He coached the Tigers from 2017-20922, owning a 105-51 record. Although he led the program to three NCAA Tournament appearances, he was at the center of a recruiting scandal. He wasn't let go until LSU received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA.
While LSU fans are glad Wade is back, Matt Norlander of CBS Sports slammed the polarizing coach for his decision to turn on NC State after just one season.
"Will Wade is leaving NC State after one season, a 20-14 record and a one-and-done in the First Four to go back to LSU," Norlander said. "One of the more bizarre, elongated, shameless coaching courtships ever."
© Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images.
Will Wade facing serious heat.
Unsurprisingly, Norlander isn't the only member of the media criticizing Wade this Thursday.
"Gotta feel somewhat bad for Matt McMahon," Andrew Riedell of College Baseball Central. "Didn’t hear it from the LSU AD that he was gonna get fired just heard it from everyone but him that he was getting replaced."
"Will Wade isn't even a good enough coach for this," Lawrence Kreymer of Blue Demon Media Network. "He's overrated AND a bad person."
"This all feels a little shady even as it plays out in plain sight," another person commented.
Wade could silence his critics by having immediate success in Baton Rouge. However, anything less than a deep run next March will lead to him receiving even more backlash
