Veteran coach Will Wade, formerly of Chattanooga, VCU, LSU, and McNeese State, has signed a six-year deal to lead NC State, succeeding Kevin Keatts. Three games into the 2025-26 season, the Wolfpack have responded well, earning wins over NC Central, UAB, and UNC Greensboro.
This Monday, Wade will face his former team, VCU (2-1), in what promises to be his first real test of the season. After a coaching journey that included a noteworthy stint with the Rams, the matchup brings a sense of nostalgia for the 42-year-old, whose earlier tenure with VCU was marked by amazing results.
Will Wade Wishes To Have Fully Appreciated His Previous Coaching Stint at VCU
In an interview with Adam Epstein of 910 The Fan on Friday, Wade remembered his previous stint with VCU. At that time, he had just led Chattanooga to a 20-win season and would have big shoes to fill after the previous coach, Shaka Smart, left the Rams following the 2015 tournament.
Wade guided VCU to a 51-20 record and made the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. The Rams reached the second round in 2016 and fought in the first round the following year.
The Nashville, Tennessee, native, who left VCU after the 2017 tournament to coach LSU, where he stayed for five seasons until 2022, admitted he regretted the move from Richmond to Baton Rouge and wished he had thought about it for a longer time.
“I didn’t fully appreciate VCU when I was there as a head coach. As an assistant I did appreciate everything,” Wade said. “When I was a head coach I was young, just ‘move, move, move, move, move.’ Looking back, I should have never left – I’m reflective enough to admit that. I should’ve stayed awhile longer. We had something really (good) going.”
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The coach remembered the community’s extensive support for the team. Wade said it was only now that he reflected on the incredible journey he had with VCU.
“At the time, I didn’t realize it, I was always ‘Let’s go to the next big thing.’ VCU has incredible fans, incredible administrative support, incredible facilities,” he said. “There’s everything that you need there to win at a high level. That’s why a dumba** like me can win there. They just change the coaches out, and everybody keeps winning. It’s an incredible place, incredible job.”
On Monday, Wade and NC State will host the Rams, whose athletic director, Ed McLaughlin, was instrumental in helping the coach secure a job at Raleigh. He promoted Wade to NC State counterpart Bob Corrigan when the latter asked him about the coach’s time at Richmond.
He hopes that the visiting VCU fans would praise him as the coach who helped the team back to relevancy and not troll him like they did when he was coaching at LSU. Wade will treat this game as a big challenge for him to overcome, comparing VCU to a Quad I or Quad II opponent at a high-major setting.
The game is scheduled at 7 p.m. ET at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, with the ACC Network covering the game on live television. Jay Alter and Randolph Childress will serve as the announcers for the encounter.
