Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright is expected to retire after 21 seasons as Villanova’s men’s basketball head coach, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Fordham’s Kyle Neptune, who spent 10 years under Wright as video coordinator and assistant coach, is set to be named as his successor, according to sources.
According to sources, Wright has called a team meeting for Wednesday evening.
Wright, 60, has been a head coach at Villanova since 2001. He won two national championships in 2016 and 2018 and made four Final Four appearances, including one last season. He was named Naismith Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2016 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
Wright went 520-197 in his 21 seasons with the Wildcats and won at least 30 games six times, the sixth-most 30-win season in men’s Division I history. He won eight Big East regular-season titles and five Big East conference tournament championships.
Before taking over Villanova, Wright was the head coach at Hofstra for seven seasons, winning two America East championships and appearing in two NCAA tournaments.
Neptune, Wright’s expected successor, has been head coach at Fordham for a season. He led the Rams to a 16-16 season, a 14-win improvement over their 2020-21 season.
The news of Wright’s anticipated retirement, first reported by The Athletic, sent shock waves through the college basketball world, where Wright is one of the most respected coaches. With Mike Krzyzewski’s recent retirement, Wright became one of only three active coaches to win multiple national titles. (Bill Self and Rick Pitino are the others.)
“It’s a tremendous loss for college basketball,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told ESPN, adding that Wright is “absolutely” one of the best coaches of modern times.
Boeheim was among the many coaches contacted by ESPN who were stunned by the news. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said he was surprised too.
“He really achieved everything and did it with class,” Brey told ESPN. “It’s a big loss for the college game.”
Wright’s victories, titles and accomplishments speak for themselves. But the theme running through the sport on Wednesday was the way Wright was treating himself.
“I know Jay throughout his coaching career,” former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese told ESPN. “He’s a great coach but a better person.”
ESPN’s Pete Thamel contributed to this report.