Villanova's Jay Wright officially announces retirement, releases statement
Villanova coach Jay Wright has officially retired following multiple reports Wednesday evening that the two-time national championship-winning Wildcat head coach was stepping down from his position just over seven months after being enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The legendary coach released a statement confirming the news late Wednesday.
The Wildcats are targeting Fordham head coach Kyle Neptune as his likely successor. Reports emerged on the new hiring directly after news of Wrights retirement spread throughout social media. Neptune was an assistant at Villanova from 2013-2021.
Wright, who led Villanova to their sixth 30-win season under his watch since becoming head coach in 2001, made his fourth appearance in the Final Four this past season after defeating Houston 50-44 in the Elite Eight last month.
The Wildcats won the 2016 and 2018 National Championships under his watch. Since 2016, Villanova is 20-4 in the NCAA Tournament under Wright, currently the most in the nation.
The hall of fame coach finishes his coaching career with a 642–282 (.695) overall record, as well as a 34-16 record in the NCAA Tournament. His career got started in 1984 as an assistant at the University of Rochester before stints at Drexel, UNLV and even five seasons as an assistant at Villanova from 1987-1992.
Wright’s first head coaching gig presented itself at Hofstra, where had had a successful seven-year stint with The Pride before making his way to Villanova.
He is a two-time winner of the Naismith National Coach of the Year award (2006 and 2016) and in 2018-19 became the first man in Big East history to be selected as the league’s Coach of the Year at least six times. Even more impressive, Wright was named the Associated Press men’s college basketball Coach of the Decade in 2020.
With Wright’s name enshrined in the hall of fame, two rings on his fingers and a multitude of his former coaches and players spread throughout the basketball world will keep his legacy alive far after his retirement.