Complete Timeline of the Will Wade Era at NC State
In this story:
RALEIGH — The Will Wade era at NC State began with promises of change, success and glory. It ended 366 days later, with nothing but 20 wins and a loss in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, to show for it. Wade caught the Wolfpack administration by surprise when he proved the continual rumors of a reunion with LSU to be true, abandoning the Pack after one season.
The coach's exit from NC State was clumsy and toxic, leaving fans of the Wolfpack more bitter than ever. Once Wade's plane took off from the general aviation private terminal at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the era had officially run its course. Now, it's time to look back and see what really went down during Wade's time in Raleigh.
Wade arrives, promises a reckoning - March 25, 2025
After a courtship that involved airport meetings between NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan and Wade, followed by a win over Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament while coaching McNeese State, Wade arrived in Raleigh. He explained that he was a changed man from when he was exiled from college basketball by LSU. Now, it was time for his redemption, so he said.
"I want to be very clear, this is not a rebuild. We're going to be in the top part of the ACC next year, and we're going to the NCAA tournament," Wade said. "This is not something that's going to take a while. Make sure you got that on camera. This is going to be done and done the right way, and this is going to be done quickly. We are here to win."
First official practice - Sept. 22, 2025
While the Wolfpack's offseason was full of training and team bonding, the first official practice came at the end of September 2025, when Wade first opened the program fully to the media. There was a sense of optimism and commitment after the offseason loaded with boastful comments and victory laps in the transfer portal. Wade doubled down on the "Red Reckoning," explaining what the phrase meant.
"We're NC State. We're red. Blood is red, not blue. So, red and then it's going to be a reckoning for the ACC and for college basketball," Wade said. "You're going to have to deal with us. You hadn't had to deal with us because we hadn't always been on the same page... This isn't the Will Wade Wolfpack. It's not the Boo Corrigan Wolfpack ... This is all of us together. This is NC State."
ACC Tipoff fireworks - Oct. 8, 2025
Wade, joined by star transfers Darrion Williams and Ven-Allen Lubin, took the stage at The Hilton Charlotte Uptown for ACC Tipoff, but Wade and Williams noticed something was wrong. The photo of the soon-to-be Preseason ACC Player of the Year was wrong. Instead of Williams, it was Virginia's Malik Thomas. Wade took the opportunity to express the size of his chipped shoulder further.
He doubled down on Williams as the team's star and reiterated that despite the group's size issues (Lubin was the largest starter at 6-foot-9), the Wolfpack would create problems for the ACC. He outright stated that he believed NC State was one of the "best teams in the ACC."
LSU moves on from Scott Woodward amidst football drama, Gov. Jeff Landry gets more involved - Oct. 30, 2025
LSU's ridiculous athletic program turnover began in late October, as Gov. Jeff Landry essentially pushed out the school's athletic director, Scott Woodward, not long after he fired Brian Kelly from his position as head football coach. This should have been the first red flag for NC State regarding Wade, as Landry was a noted fan of the former LSU coach. With more oversight of the athletic department at LSU, there was always a risk that Landry made inroads to get Wade back in the bayou.
The debut - Nov. 3, 2025
Welcome to Lenovo, @CoachWadeNCSU. pic.twitter.com/K3aDWob8lA
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) November 4, 2025
As the team wore the controversial "STATE" uniforms, Wade walked out of the tunnel for the first time to a raucous Lenovo Center crowd. The energy had shifted around NC State men's basketball. The Red Reckoning felt tangible for fans in that moment. A monster win over NC Central only furthered that feeling. By all accounts, Wade was all in.
Kinks in the armor - The Maui Invitational, Nov. 2025
FINAL: Seton Hall 85, NC State 74
— Charlie Gribble (@Charlie_Grib) November 24, 2025
Wolfpack fall in the opening game of the Maui Invitational Tournament for the first loss of the 2025 season. Wolfpack's leading scorer in Darrion Williams finishes with just 12 points as the Pack get outrebounded and commit 13 turnovers. pic.twitter.com/NzQaWyI8OH
NC State suffered its first two losses of the Wade era at the Maui Invitational after entering as the lone ranked program in the event. The outlook on the season diminished greatly, especially after major defensive issues persisted against stronger competition. One of the losses came against Texas, which later ended the Wade era with the First Four win.
Williams appeared to suffer the infamous shoulder injury in Maui as well, derailing a promising start to the season for the highly-touted transfer. It all went downhill from there for the Texas Tech transfer.
LSU hires Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss - Nov. 30, 2025
After a very dramatic few weeks, Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss before it played in the College Football Playoff to become the head coach for LSU football. What does this have to do with Wade? The move set the precedent for LSU's complete and total lack of regard for other programs, as it poached Kiffin using backchannels to get the deal done.
The Texas Southern rant - Dec. 17, 2025
NC State head coach Will Wade went on a spirited rant about his team’s struggles with correcting issues and attention to detail.
— Tucker Sennett (@SennettTucker) December 18, 2025
Here is part of his postgame press conference following the 108-72 win over Texas Southern @WolfpackOnSI: pic.twitter.com/WPAEiQBak4
The first signs of Wade's disappointment in the roster occurred in Maui, but things boiled over after 36-point win over Texas Southern. Sophomore guard Paul McNeil erupted for 47 points in the victory at Reynolds Coliseum, but Wade still expressed massive dismay with the play of his team, critiquing a lack of internal leadership from the veteran members of the group.
"I've been concerned for weeks, but I mean... We are who we are," Wade said. "I said it a couple of weeks ago. If you're not physical and you're not tough, you better be alert and aware and we're still none of the four. We're not physical, we're not tough, we're not alert, we're not aware. If you're alert and aware, you don't give up five points on baseline out-of-balance plays with the clock under three seconds. We just don't do it."
League play begins shakily with another viral moment - Dec. 31, 2025
🚨NSFW🚨 NC State head coach Will Wade was asked what his concern level over the play of Darrion Williams was after the win over Wake Forest.
— Tucker Sennett (@SennettTucker) December 31, 2025
Here's his response: pic.twitter.com/K0fDK4t7xe
Over nine games between Nov. 24 and Dec. 31, Williams averaged 10.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists. As the star of the team, Williams was performing far below expectations. When asked about his concern level with Williams following the win over Wake Forest in the ACC opener, Wade exploded into what many assume was a prepared rant about his top transfer.
"Absolutely zero," Wade began. "I'm tired of hearing about freaking Darrion. He's f****** playing well, alright? It's a terrible question. It's a terrible question. Let me be frank with you, he affects winning and everybody's out here bitching about him and all this stuff; he affects winning. He was plus-13 against Ole Miss and didn't hit a shot and everyone's acting like the world is caving in."
Wade chose to back Williams in that moment, rather than risk alienating his star player or the entire locker room by going the other direction. Things changed over the course of the season, however, as Wade slowly began to lean the other way.
Virginia's ownage begins - Jan. 3, 2026
Wade and Virginia head coach Ryan Odom arrived at their new programs with expectations of turning things around in a hurry. Odom proved to be way ahead of NC State's first-year coach, dominating the Wolfpack in the second league game of the season, 76-61. The roster construction issues and lack of size were glaring issues in the Pack's first ACC loss.
A loss Wade couldn't get over - Jan. 17, 2026
NC State appeared to turn the page with wins over lowly Boston College and a slumping Florida State team following the loss to Virginia. However, everything unraveled for Wade's group when it returned home to face Georgia Tech, which beat the Pack in the first of several late-game collapses at the Lenovo Center.
Wade never got over the loss to the Yellow Jackets, partly for good reason. Georgia Tech failed to win an ACC game for the rest of the season following that victory over the Wolfpack, which ended up greatly hurting NC State's NCAA Tournament résumé, likely solidifying the team's trip to Dayton.
A Quadrant 1 win, win streak, and a spectacular blowout - Jan. 20 - Feb. 9, 2026
For two weeks, the vibe completely flipped for the Wolfpack. Facing a then-ranked No. 18 Clemson team on the road, NC State rose to the occasion in overtime, knocking off the Tigers behind a monster performance from Lubin. It marked the start of the program's best stretch under Wade. It was also the first Quadrant 1 victory in the NET rankings.
NC State went on to win its next five games following the Clemson win. Some were dominant, like the trip to Wake Forest or Quadir Copeland's revenge game against Syracuse. The Wolfpack figured out what worked offensively, running things through Copeland and Williams on what Wade called parallel tracks. However, the dependence on 3-point shooting created some angst for the head coach and the defense continued to struggle.
A narrow victory over a fellow First Four squad, SMU, helped NC State's confidence reach a new level, as the Wolfpack started the ACC season with six-straight wins away from the Lenovo Center. It finished the streak with a win over Virginia Tech before things unraveled spectacularly against Louisville in Wade's first ESPN "Big Monday" game. The Cardinals beat the Wolfpack by 41 on Feb. 9.
"We just didn't play to our capabilities tonight. That's on me as the coach," Wade said. "I didn't have us prepared. I didn't have us as ready as I thought we were and that's on me, not on those guys. Those guys, for the most part, tried to do what we asked them to do and I didn't have a very good plan. I didn't have a very good pulse of our group tonight."
The Miami collapse - Feb. 14, 2026
DA way up ‼️
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) February 15, 2026
Our Kia Scoring Drive to the Hoop vs. NC State 🙌 pic.twitter.com/j7UUNJXXQN
Heading into the matchup against Miami, Wade still believed in his team's ability to finish in the top-four of the ACC standings. The Wolfpack was in position to do so, but just needed to play above .500 basketball down the stretch. NC State led Miami by seven points with 67 seconds left in the game. The Hurricanes embarked on an 8-0 run, while Wade didn't use a timeout as his team crumbled.
"We missed the front-end of the one-and-one, same situation as we had at SMU, but we make a defensive stop," Wade said. "That stuff always comes back to bite you. Stuff always comes back to bite you and we don't have the discipline to understand that right now... That's why we're going to be on the bubble for the rest of the year."
.@CanesHoops go on an 8-0 run in the final minute to get the W over NC State 😳 pic.twitter.com/3x0qDeKuxE
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) February 14, 2026
Wade called his shot right there. It was a bitter message to a team suddenly lacking confidence greatly. While the effort issues had been there all season, it signaled a shift in Wade's tone toward the team the rest of the way. He honed in on Copeland, McNeil and Lubin as the lone members of the team he felt played the game the right way. Everyone else became expendable.
Wade wins back the crowd - Feb. 17, 2026
Wearing the red quarter zip for the first time in several weeks, Wade led the Wolfpack out of the tunnel against a team he absolutely needed to beat after his offseason antics: the North Carolina Tar Heels. Without Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar in the mix, UNC was a shell of itself. NC State took advantage, dominating Hubert Davis' team 82-58. It was the highlight of the ill-fated "Red Reckoning."
After the game, Lubin, a former UNC player who became the first direct transfer between the two schools, sported a bedazzled belt, poking fun at UNC's freshman phenom, Wilson. There was a renewed confidence within the Pack, but Wade still seemed guarded about the potential of the team. Once again, his Wolfpack proved him right.
A disastrous skid - Feb. 24 - March 7
It started with another loss to Odom and Virginia, this time by 29 points. The loss completely deflated NC State once again, with Wade's players moving on quickly and trying to turn the page while he struggled to accept just how much better the Cavaliers were when compared to his program.
"We're not ready to compete with the top of the league right now, that's just a fact," he said. "We get our doors blown off twice by Virginia. Virginia is a great team; give them credit. They're just better than us. They're better than us at every spot."
Notre Dame and NC State are heading to OT 👀pic.twitter.com/RSDeOreiT8
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 28, 2026
An overtime loss to Notre Dame, one of the bottom teams in the ACC, came later in the week. It was another blown lead because of poor defense and execution, two things Wade continually blamed throughout the season, but never fixed. Things didn't get easier. Two days later, NC State hosted Duke, the top-ranked team in the country. It lost by 29. That result opened Wade's eyes to just how hard it was going to be to compete with the top teams in the league.
"We've got a long way to go to catch Duke right now. There's as good a team as I've played against," Wade said. "I'm not just talking about their talent, the way they operate. They're ruthlessly efficient on both ends... Watch the way they run to the scorer's table when they sub in. It's an impressive operation from top to bottom. We've got some work to do."
The skid rolled on in the regular-season finale, as NC State blew another lead late against Stanford on Senior Day in the Lenovo Center. It was yet another disastrous defensive performance as the Wolfpack looked more and more like a broken record and less like a basketball team down the stretch.
The ACC Tournament - March 11-12, 2026
Having slumped its way out of a top-four seed, NC State opened the ACC Tournament in the second round against Pittsburgh for a right to face Virginia in the quarterfinal. Wade brought a renewed energy to Charlotte and got his team to battle past the Panthers for its first victory in four games. However, the deflating loss to Virginia came the very next day, halting the momentum. It was after that game that Wade made his biggest mistake: answering a question about LSU.
"Is the job open there? No," Wade said. "Let me be very clear: I am excited at NC State. I was hired at NC State to do a job. This wasn't going to take one year. I've already met with our administration about next year and some of the changes that we need to make and some of the things that we need to do to put this program where it deserves to be long-term."
The First Four - March 17, 2026
After receiving the disappointing news that his team was heading to Dayton, Ohio, for the First Four round as an 11-seed, Wade appeared to be at peace with his position at NC State. He once again reaffirmed his commitment to the program before the game and expressed excitement for a potential run through March, the night before his team took on Texas for the second time in the season.
Tramon Mark ended the Wolfpack's NCAA Tournament dreams with a step-back jumper. Wade's address to the locker room was swift before he stormed over to the press room up the ramp at UD Arena. He was somewhat monotone in his official media availability after the loss, but opened up for questions outside the locker room not long after.
"We're going to go back and when the wheels hit the ground, we're going to start preparing for next year," Wade said. "My eyes are wide-open. I understand what we need to do, but this is unacceptable, losing in Dayton. In some ways, we were fortunate to make the Tournament with this group, but we've got to do a much better job getting guys and making sure we get guys that fit us in the future."
As it turned out, that was Wade's last time addressing the media as the head coach of NC State. All of the change he promised would be saved for LSU.
A messy Wednesday - March 25, 2026
According to Corrigan himself, he and Wade met, along with other administrators, to discuss the future of the men's basketball program on Tuesday, March 24. All signs pointed to Wade returning, even as media members in Baton Rouge repeatedly indicated that a return to LSU was imminent for the once-disgraced coach. Corrigan arrived at his office on Wednesday morning to a resignation letter from Wade. It came over email.
That was the end of Wade at NC State. An email. Once the Wolfpack power brokers knew of what had happened, the search immediately began. Now, Justin Gainey is ready to be the next leader of the NC State men's basketball program, while Wade starts a new chapter in an old place mired in controversy.
Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
Follow SennettTucker