NC State Next Head Coach Odds: Gainey Favored to Replace Will Wade

By Christopher Boan

Mar 26th, 2026 1:56 PM EDT

North Carolina State seeks a new men’s head basketball coach for the second offseason in a row. (Nell Redmond-Imagn Images)

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North Carolina State is looking for a men’s basketball coach again as news broke on Thursday that Will Wade is returning to LSU.

This is a good time to figure out who Wolfpack AD Boo Corrigan should consider to replace Wade. Customers at sports betting sites will take interest in this story as well. The team at Bookies.com compiled hypothetical NC State Next Head Coach Odds for the Wolfpack.

These odds are exclusive to Bookies.com but you’ll find plenty of NCAA basketball betting wagers as March Madness rolls on.

How We Got Here

With Wade’s NC State buyout dropping on April 1, LSU chose to bring back the men’s basketball head coach that the school fired in 2022.

Raleigh’s NBC affiliate, WRAL-TV, reported Thursday that Wade’s return to LSU weas a done deal after the coach spent a lone season with the Wolfpack. NC State went 20-14 this season and lost to Texas in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.

The transfer portal set to open April 7, so any replacement for Wade would need to be in place quickly to stabilize roster decisions.

The early “most logical” name is Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey, who was in the mix for the job last cycle and has NC State ties.

LSU fired Matt McMahon as coach on Thursday morning, ending a four-year stint in Baton Rouge that saw him go 60-70.

McMahon failed to live up to the bar that Wade set during his five-year stint with the Tigers. From 2017-22, Wade went 105-51, made the NCAA Tournament three times and got the Tigers as high as ninth in the Associated Press poll.

Also see: Next UNC Basketball Coach Odds

Favorite In NC State Next Head Coach Odds

Now, it’s up to Corrigan and his team to make sure they land a man that’ll stick around NC State a lot longer than Wade.

Our primary candidate played for the Wolfpack from 1996 to 2000: Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey. He had been an assistant head coach at Marquette with stops at Arizona, Santa Clara, Appalachian State and Elon dating to 2009.

We give Gainey, 49, favorite status with a 28.6% implied probability. That would translate to +250 odds if it were offered at top sportsbook apps. Gainey would give alumni something to rally around after losing Wade to his former employer.

Who Else Wolfpack Might Consider

Should Corrigan go in another direction, keep an eye on other hot assistants in this cycle.

That includes two men on UConn’s bench, assistant coach Luke Murray (+450) and associate head coach Kimani Young (+650).

Murray has followed the Johnny Cash script, as he’s been everywhere, man. He has been an assistant (or graduate assistant) at Louisville, Xavier, Rhode Island, Towson, Wagner and Arizona and his resume dates to 2009.

His colleague in Storrs has a similar backstory. Young has been Dan Hurley’s assistant head coach since 2020, after three years (2018-20) as a regular assistant for the Huskies. He also has spent time at Minnesota (2013-18) and FIU (2012-13). The former UTEP point guard has plenty of experience if he takes first head coaching role in 2026.

The Huskies are in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals as the No. 2 seed in the East Region. UConn has +2500 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win its third national title in four years.

Longshot Candidates for NC State Opening

A potential in-state option for NC State would follow in the footsteps of Wade’s predecessor, Kevin Keatts. That’s Takayo Siddle of UNC Wilmington (+750 for NC State next head coach odds).

Siddle has won Coastal Athletic Association regular-season titles in 2022 and 2026, and the league tournament in 2025. He is a two-time Coach of the Year in the CAA (2022 and 2026) and has ties in Raleigh, as an assistant from 2017 to 2020.

Yale head coach James Jones (+900) has been a cornerstone of Ivy League hoops since 1999. He has led the Bulldogs to eight Ivy League regular-season titles and five NCAA Tournament bids (most recently in 2025).

High Point head coach Flynn Clayman (+1200) produced magical results in his first season as a full-time Division I head coach. The 37-year-old took the Panthers to the second round of the Big Dance after they upset fifth seed Wisconsin, 83-82. High Point went 15-1 in Big South play.

Travis Steele of Miami (Ohio) was the belle of the basketball ball this year. He led the RedHawks through an undefeated regular season (31-0). They defeated SMU in its First Four game before Tennessee eliminated Steele’s team in the first round of the tournament. We give him +1400 odds.

Finally, Josh Schertz of Saint Louis (+1800) is 48-21 in two seasons leading the Billikens. He was 66-40 at Indiana State over three years, including an NIT runner-up finish in 2024.

For now, we’ll assume that Corrigan’s going to stay on script. The top contender as NC State head coach brings deep ties to the program. And if he’s hired, Gainey should bring a commitment to sticking it out more than a year.

Stick with Bookies.com for more betting coverage and the best sportsbook promos too.

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