Will Wade Says Change is Coming For NC State

DAYTON, Ohio — NC State's season ended in typical fashion for the 2025-26 version of the Wolfpack. The team played the Texas Longhorns close down the stretch in a First Four matchup, but came up painfully short when Tramon Mark buried a mid-range jumper with just a second to spare. For first-year coach Will Wade, the loss cleared the board, something he's been eagerly waiting for.

Throughout the woes in non-conference and ACC play, Wade bemoaned his roster and the principles on which it was constructed. His first group in Raleigh came together in a hurry after he arrived shortly after the NCAA Tournament in 2025. While his first season ended disappointingly, he promised there won't be anything worse than what the Wolfpack did on Tuesday in Dayton.

A hallway rant

Mar 17, 2026; Dayton, OH, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade coaches in the first half against the Texas Longhorns during a first four game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at University of Dayton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Wade stood in the hallway just outside of his team's locker room, where some of his players packed up their Wolfpack gear for the last time in 2026. Four of five starters on Tuesday were seniors who signed for one season at NC State under Wade. Before his team got on the plane back to Raleigh, the coach already started plotting his next steps for turning around the historic program he took over.

"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."

Playing for Wade isn't for the faint of heart, but when players earn his trust, he's willing to ride the wave with them for as long as it lasts. His first Wolfpack team didn't have the kind of player he felt he needed to do more with the year, outside of three exceptions. He named Ven-Allen Lubin and Quadir Copeland, both seniors on the way out, and sophomore Paul McNeil as the guys he appreciated the most. As for what he's looking for moving forward, the answer isn't complicated.

"We need tough, gritty guys that when things get tough, they rise to the occasion," Wade said. "We've got profiles at each position that we need and we're going to hit on them."

College basketball as a whole experienced seismic changes with the introduction of NIL, revenue sharing and the openness of the transfer portal. Those things allowed Wade to build his first NC State roster expeditiously, but they also created a gap in what he wanted from a personality standpoint from his players. His assessment of the roster construction after the Texas loss was as blunt as ever.

"No. We did a poor job," he said, denying that the changing landscape makes it harder to find the tough players he needs to take his program to another level.

Losing in the First Four was far from where Wade wanted to be at this point in his first season with the Wolfpack, especially given the resources he was provided with and went out and got himself. He took responsibility for his team's shortcomings throughout most of the year, but shifted the blame to his players at times as they struggled to grow in crucial areas. He insisted that it won't be the case moving forward.

"We'll be fine. I wouldn't worry about us. We'll be hell next year," he said. "This will be the worst team we have at NC State right here. You just watched it. This is the floor of our program and we will be much better moving forward. We know what's got to get fixed. I've got a very clear mind on what we need and how we need to go about attacking and doing it."