The LSU basketball team has a new head coach in Will Wade. Wade left NC State after just one season, to return to coach the Tigers. He previously was the team's coach from 2017-2022.

As he gets ready to start his second tenure with the team, Wade is opening up about his expectations. He even made a joke while speaking to fans and the assembled press.

“We're gonna make history one way or the other. We're coming back to try to hang a banner and win a national championship, or I'm gonna be the first coach fired from the same school twice. One way or another, we're gonna make history!” Wade said Monday at his introductory presser, per The Field of 68.

Wade was previously dismissed from the LSU program in 2022, following an NCAA investigation into the school's recruiting practices. Since he left Baton Rouge, he has coached at McNeese State and NC State.

Wade led both of those programs to the NCAA tournament. His Wolfpack team just lost to Texas in the First Four of the 2026 NCAA tournament.

Will Wade wants a shot at a national championship with LSU Basketball

Wade returns to Louisiana as one of the most successful LSU basketball coaches in recent years.

“Wade won games for the Tigers, though, and led the program to an SEC regular season title and Sweet 16 in 2019. He took LSU to the NCAA Tournament in three of his five seasons. He made the NIT before COVID-19 wiped out March Madness in his other season at the helm,” USA Today reported.

Wade's departure from NC State ruffled feathers at that school. The Wolfpack were shocked to see Wade leave after just one season.

“I think Philip Rivers said it … the Wolfpack ain't for soft people. We're going to go find a coach that understands who we are,” NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan said after Wade's departure, per On3.

Wade is not the only new head coach at LSU, heading into the 2026-27 season. The football program is led by Lane Kiffin, who famously left Ole Miss ahead of the 2025 College Football Playoff.