UPDATE, Thursday, 11 a.m.
The LSU basketball reunion with Will Wade appears to be a go, according to reports around the NCAA basketball landscape.
LSU has re-hired their former coach, according to media reports, and will fire Matt McMahon. Wade was fired in 2022 amid fallout from recruiting violations. Wade spent a year away from coaching before being hired at McNeese State and leading the Cowboys on back-to-back NCAA Tournament runs. He spent the past season with NC State, with that season ending in a First Four defeat to Texas.
The contract is for 7 years and was signed Thursday morning, according to CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein. Wade posted a statement to social media Thursday afternoon thanking NC State fans and confirming he'd be taking the job back at LSU.
"The opportunity to return to Louisiana State University is deeply personal," Wade wrote in the statement. "It's a chance to go home -- to a place that means a great deal to me and my family."
Neither the firing of McMahon nor the hire of Wade has been officially announced by the school. LSU men's basketball has fallen into irrelevance the past four seasons, with the Tigers scuffling to a 60-70 record overall, and an ugly 17-55 in SEC play. Wade's tenure was marked by three NCAA Tournament visits, though he only coached in one of them due to a suspension and his firing. The Tigers' best season under Wade's leadership came in 2018-'19 when they won an SEC regular season title and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
The biggest hurdles to navigate will be buyouts for the contracts of both McMahon and Wade, which will be costly on both ends.
LSU has already announced the hire of former McNeese State AD Heath Schroyer as a deputy AD at LSU, a move that significantly impacted the school's ability to bring Wade back to Baton Rouge. LSU had previously hired Wade Rousse as its president, who had previously served in that role for McNeese and was the architect behind their hire of Wade at that time.
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ORIGINAL STORY
A story brewing in Louisiana for weeks became national news on Wednesday when CBS College Basketball Insider Jon Rothstein reported that LSU is working to hire McNeese AD Heath Schroyer as a senior administrator.
What's the significance of LSU hiring Schroyer? Schroyer is the man who took a chance and hired Will Wade in March of 2023 to lead the McNeese men's basketball team. A year earlier, LSU fired Wade for committing NCAA recruiting violations.
Wade revitalized the Cowboys basketball program, leading the Pokes to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2024 and 2025.
It's been reported that an effort was made to bring Wade back to Baton Rouge following the 2025 season, but for a variety of reasons, it never happened.
But the potential hiring of Schroyer is a sign that many power brokers want Wade to lead the LSU men's basketball program.
Yahoo Sports reported that Governor Landry pushed former LSU athletics director Scott Woodward to bring back Wade. It's a reason why Landry was not a fan of Woodward.
Wade's other allies include current LSU president Wade Rousse and LSU Board of Supervisors Chairman Lee Mallett. Mallett is a successful Lake Charles area businessman, and Rousse is the former president at McNeese.
Some influential donors also want to see Wade back.
Donor fatigue is a real issue after buying out Brian Kelly, hiring Lane Kiffin, and paying for a new football roster. There is apparently enough money to buy out current head coach Matt McMahon, roughly $8-million, and give Wade a good contract and provide him with the NIL dollars to succeed.
Wade just led North Carolina State to a 20-14 record and a short appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack lost to Texas in a First Four matchup.
Wade has said he's not happy with his first season in Raleigh and is committed to taking the Wolfpack to greater heights.
But Wade also enjoyed his time at LSU, leading the Tigers to 20 or more victories in three of his five seasons for the Bayou Bengals.
He won an SEC regular season championship in 2019 and made LSU men's basketball fun and relevant, something the program has not been since he was fired.
It would be an amazing story. You don't see many coaches get fired but return to the place that gave them their walking papers.
The late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner fired Billy Martin as his manager five times.
Bobby Petrino left Arkansas as a disgraced football coach in 2012 after getting into a motorcycle accident. The passenger was a female staffer for Petrino, and the two were having an affair.
Petrino eventually returned to Arkansas in 2023 as an offensive coordinator and was the interim head coach of the Razorbacks for much of the 2025 season.
Speculation will continue to swirl for the next few days because Wade's buyout drops from $5 million to $3 million on April 1st.
Many people thought it was far-fetched that Wade could return to LSU; now it seems like a reality.
