Will Wade addresses LSU buzz: “Is the job open there? No?"

LSU head coach Matt McMahon‘s 3-18 finish in SEC play this season meant the Tigers won just six conference games the past two seasons.

Four season after replacing Will Wade as LSU’s head coach, McMahon’s record is 60–69 (.465) overall record and 17–55 (.236) in SEC play.

Given the results, buzz is heating up around the fanbase – and powers that be in and around LSU – on what’s next.

Do the Tigers stick with McMahon, invest more into NIL and hope injuries don’t derail progress for a third-straight season?

Or, does LSU make a change?

At this point, those leading the push for change at LSU seem to be driven as much (or more) by an opportunity to potentially bring North Carolina State head coach Will Wade back to Baton Rouge than the results and storylines across McMahon’s four-year tenure.

Wade speaks out on buzz around potential return to LSU Basketball

While LSU’s season ended on Wednesday in Nashville with a first-round loss to Kentucky, the Tigers have made no statements on McMahon’s future in Baton Rouge.

When Wade’s NC State team lost to Virginia in the ACC Tournament on Thursday, the post-game press conference brought questions on the chatter out of Baton Rouge.

Was he already in contact behind the scenes with LSU?

“No,” Wade said. “Is the job open there? No?

“Listen, let me be every clear: I’m excited at NC State. I was hired at NC State to do a job.”

Wade then went on about his push for more commitment from the powers that be into the basketball program at NC State, and, in turn, his commitment towards building that for the Wolfpack.

“This wasn’t going to take one year,” Wade said. “I’ve already met with our administration about next year and some of the changes that we need to make and some of the things that we need to do to put this program where it deserves long-term.”

NC State came into the day listed as a projected No. 10 seed in ESPN’s Bracketology from Joe Lundardi.

Following Thursday’s loss to Virginia, Lunardi still felt NC State would punch a ticket to March Madness – meaning Wade’s 2025-26 season with the Wolfpack likely is not over yet.

“In desperate need of a win after six losses in seven games, NC State rallied from an early deficit to beat Pitt and make the ACC quarterfinals, but that was as far as the Wolfpack got — Virginia handled them Thursday to knock them out of the conference tourney,” Lunardi said.

“Their at-large odds are now 90% — down from a peak of 98% — but not at all unfavorable when you consider that ranks seventh in an ACC trending toward eight NCAA entries. The Wolfpack still rank in the mid-30s nationally in our résumé ratings with a meaningful gap to the next-best team, SMU. While their late-season swoon was far from ideal, they’ll probably get into the Big Dance anyway.”