Will Wade is an American college basketball coach best known today as the head men’s basketball coach at NC State, with a controversial but high-profile career that has kept him in the sports news cycle.

Quick Scoop: Who is Will Wade?

  • Full name: Frank Williams “Will” Wade, born November 26, 1982.
  • Profession: American college basketball coach, currently head coach of the NC State men’s basketball team.
  • Previous head coaching stops:
    • Chattanooga Mocs
* VCU Rams

* LSU Tigers

* McNeese State Cowboys

He first rose in the coaching ranks as a student manager and then staff member with Clemson, before moving into assistant roles and eventually getting his first head coaching job at Chattanooga, where he produced back-to-back winning seasons and a 20+ win campaign that earned him conference Coach of the Year honors. At VCU, he took over a strong program and maintained its NCAA Tournament presence, including a 25–11 season and an NCAA Tournament win while still in his early 30s.

Why is he in the news?

Will Wade has been a frequent topic in college hoops discussions in 2025–2026 because of ongoing rumors and speculation about his job future. Key points:

  • He coached LSU from 2017 to 2022 but was caught up in a long-running federal investigation into illegal recruiting and pay‑for‑play allegations, which made him one of the most scrutinized figures in college basketball.
  • After rebuilding his career and landing at NC State, message boards, podcasts, and social media have lit up with rumors that LSU might try to bring him back, especially as coaching carousels spin in 2026.
  • On at least one occasion in March 2026, he publicly pushed back on questions about leaving, saying he was focused on his job at NC State and already planning changes for next year with his administration.

Fans on forums and podcasts are split: some see him as a proven winner whose aggressive recruiting and on‑court results justify the risk, while others view the constant cloud of NCAA and ethics questions as too much baggage for a stable program.

Other people named Will Wade

If you saw “Will Wade” in a different context, it might refer to someone else:

  • Will Wade, Georgia politician: A Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives (District 9) and a banker by background.
  • Will Wade, high‑school baseball prospect: A “Class of 2025” player listed in Perfect Game’s baseball database.

But in most sports and trending-forum conversations in 2025–2026, “who is Will Wade” is almost always about the NC State basketball coach with the LSU backstory.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.