Will Wade and LSU are reuniting.
The Tigers plan to rehire the North Carolina State coach, four years after he was fired for numerous recruiting violations in 2022. Wade spent just one year in Raleigh.
“This was not an easy decision, because of how much respect and appreciation I have for this program and this university,” Wade said in a post Thursday. “But the opportunity to return to Louisiana State University is deeply personal. It’s a chance to go home—to a place that means a great deal to me and my family.”
Wade, 43, coached at LSU from 2017 to 2022 and led the program to three NCAA tournaments and a Sweet 16 berth in 2019. But when the FBI announced it was investigating college basketball in 2017, Wade quickly became the poster child.
In March 2019, it was reported a federal wiretap caught Wade saying he made “a strong ass offer” to pay a recruit in 2017. The NIL era was still four years away at the time. LSU quickly suspended Wade, but he was later reinstated after agreeing to modifications with his contract. LSU fired Wade in March 2022 and hired Matt McMahon to replace him. McMahon went 60–70 in four seasons before being fired on Thursday.
LSU made its own strong offer to bring Wade back. He reportedly will sign a seven-year deal with additional resources in NIL and staff salary. Awkwardly, Wade put out his statement before LSU had said anything about firing McMahon, and his entire dance with the school took place while McMahon was still the coach. After LSU’s season ended in the SEC Tournament, McMahon was asked about his job security.
“I think we have an elite leadership team, administrative team, and I’ll certainly respect whatever decisions they make moving forward,” McMahon said two weeks ago.
LSU will owe McMahon more than $8 million for firing him, partially because of Wade, who left the program in a state where they needed to offer McMahon an above-market contract—seven years, $20 million—in order to lure him from Murray State. McMahon took over a program with scholarship and recruiting restrictions after the NCAA punished LSU for Wade’s recruiting violations.
LSU has been throwing around buyouts in recent months. The Tigers paid a buyout of $54 million this fall to fire football coach Brian Kelly and hired Lane Kiffin to replace him. Kiffin’s seven-year deal is worth more than $91 million. Wade owed NC State $5 million for leaving, but LSU reportedly agreed to a $4 million settlement with NC State on Thursday.
The Tigers will be Wade’s third school in three years.
Wade returned to coaching in 2023 at McNeese State in Lake Charles, La., two hours west of LSU’s campus. In his two seasons coaching the Cowboys, he went 50–9 and led the program to two NCAA tournaments and an upset win over Clemson in 2025.
LSU president Wade Rousse was in the same role at McNeese State when the school hired Wade. On Thursday, LSU hired McNeese State athletic director Heath Schroyer as senior deputy director of athletics, giving Wade another ally in Baton Rouge.
North Carolina State hired Wade from McNeese a year ago on a six-year, $17 million deal and went 20–14 in his first season.
Before his team’s buzzer-beater loss to Texas in the First Four, Wade curtly dismissed any talk of an LSU reunion.
“No, is the job open there? Huh? No? So why would I …,” Wade said. “Listen, to be very clear I’m excited at NC State. I was hired at NC State to do a job and this wasn’t going to take one year. I’ve already met with our administration about next year and some of the changes we need to make and some of the things we need to do to put this program where it deserves to be long-term.”
