Fordham coach Kyle Neptune has been named Villanova’s next men’s basketball coach following the surprise retirement of Jay Wright. Wright called an impromptu team meeting Wednesday night where he updated the team on his retirement after 21 seasons with the Wildcats and also announced that Neptune, 37, will be his successor.
An announcement from the school followed shortly thereafter. An introductory press conference is planned for Friday at 10 am
“When looking for a successor, we wanted a candidate who would navigate the changing landscape of collegiate athletics and keep Villanova in a position of strength – now and in the future,” athletic director Mark Jackson said in a statement. “After meeting several exceptional candidates, we found all of these qualities and more in Kyle Neptune. Kyle quickly excelled in basketball knowledge and recruited his adept and natural ability to connect with athletes and coaches.”
Neptune began his coaching career at Villanova in 2008 as a video coordinator and administrative intern before joining Niagara for three years as an assistant coach. He then returned to Villanova as an assistant under Wright from 2013 to 2021, becoming the longest-serving Wildcats assistant under Wright before leaving the gig in 2021 to take the job at Fordham. During his first and second stints with the program, Villanova made three Final Fours and won two national championships while earning the trust of the Hall of Famers.
Here’s a closer look at Neptune and what Villanova is getting in his next head coach.
Abbreviated Fordham barrel
A little over a year ago, Neptune took over the job at Fordham after Jeff Neubauer was fired. Neubauer spent six seasons at the helm of the program, losing five seasons, and Neptun, a rising star with a stellar reputation, seemed poised to usher the school into a new era. Ultimately, the run was clear and a bit mixed with a 16-16 finish that placed the Rams in the bottom half of the A-10 standings. However, it was the first .500 season or better since Neubauer’s debut season in 2015-16, a notable turnaround even a year ago after finishing 2021-22 2-12.
Former stations at Villanova
Neptune began his coaching career in 2008 as a video coordinator and administrative intern at Villanova, after briefly working abroad as a professional player. That stint lasted through 2010, but it was a significant time in Villanova history as the Wildcats reached the Final Four in 2009 – their first since winning the championship in 1985 – and once again established themselves as a force in the Great East and beyond .
Neptune’s second stint came with a larger job title. After three years at Niagara, he returned to Wright’s staff as an assistant in 2013, where he made his name as a high-major coach trained under a Hall of Famer. His return culminated in what is arguably the most successful and sustained run of the program in program history. Between 2013 and 2021, Villanova won 233 games and — even in a shortened 2020-21 season partially impacted by COVID-19 — averaged 29.1 wins per season. The school did not miss an NCAA tournament during that run and won two titles.
Player career at Lehigh
Knowing the ins and outs of the Villanova program as an assistant should pay off for him when he takes on the head gig, but his time as a player should also pay off. Near Lehigh University, about an hour away in Pennsylvania, Neptune played his college ball.
Neptune spent four seasons with the Mountain Hawks, where he averaged 7.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. As the team captain in his 2006–07 senior season, he averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. As a junior the year before, he played 33 minutes as the team’s starting forward in an 84-47 loss to Villanova at the Pavilion.