Ironically, NC State Head Coach Candidate Will Wade will Play his Alma Mater Clemson in the 1st Round of the NCAA Tournament

McNeese State University, currently a #12 seed in the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, clinched the Southland Conference Tournament for the second consecutive year last Wednesday by defeating Lamar 63-54.

In a twist of irony, McNeese State will face #5 seed Clemson this Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Will Wade, whose alma mater is Clemson, started his career in college basketball as the Tigers’ head student manager from 2001 to 2005.

After graduating, Wade was promoted from team manager to Graduate Assistant in 2005, a position he held for a season before advancing to Director of Basketball Operations in 2006-07.

Wade received his undergraduate degree in Second Education with an emphasis in History and Geography from Clemson University in May of 2005. During his four years at Clemson, he served as a student assistant and head manager for the men’s basketball team. Wade’s responsibilities included assisting with team and individual player workouts and practice, as well as aiding in team and opponent scouting. He also filmed and edited conference games. While assisting with official and unofficial recruiting visits, Wade helped maintain the recruiting database and create innovative recruiting mailouts. In a managerial role, he coordinated game day set-up of Littlejohn Coliseum and the locker rooms and distributed equipment to players.

Wade also served as the director for Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell Team Camps during the summer of 2003. In that capacity, he organized and supervised 97 teams, while coordinating officials for 10 different sites and 14 courts. Wade was also responsible for game scheduling, team lodging and meals, hiring of staff, gym set-up and transportation to all sites. In addition to that camp experience, he served as a coach and counselor at various other summer basketball camps from 2001-2004, including those held at Stanford, Kentucky, UCLA, Florida, Tennessee Tech and Vanderbilt. (Clemson)

Wade’s coaching journey included roles as an Assistant Coach at Harvard and VCU, followed by Head Coach positions at Chattanooga, VCU, LSU, and McNeese State.

Back in 2017, when NC State was looking for a replacement for Mark Gottfried, former Wolfpack Athletic Director Debbie Yow preferred Wade for the role. Amidst rumors of Brad Brownell’s potential departure from Clemson, Wade hesitated to make a decision. Yow did not wait and proceeded to hire Kevin Keatts.

Presently, there is speculation that the Clemson job may open again if Indiana recruits Brad Brownell, bringing him back to his home state.

Will the possibility of a vacancy at Clemson deter NC State from pursuing Wade once more?

As the situation develops, NC State fans are eagerly anticipating Thursday’s game, hoping to get a glimpse of who might become their next Head Coach in the battle against the Tigers.