NC State Fires Coach Kevin Keatts Just One Year After Magical Run To Final Four

NC State was the story of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, yet less than a full year removed from the Wolfpack's surreal run to the Final Four, the program has parted ways with head coach Kevin Keatts.

NC State announced on Sunday that Keatts has been removed from his duties effective immediately. The Wolfpack went just 12-19 during the regular season, including a 5-15 mark in what has been a down year in the ACC.

The Wolfpack did not qualify for this week's ACC Tournament, which ironically was the site where Keatts saved his job just one year ago.

The 52-year-old was on the hottest of seats heading into the conference tournament in 2024 with NC State losing five of its last six games entering the postseason. The Wolfpack were limping, to put it mildly, yet went on to win five straight games to be crowned ACC champions for the first time in nearly 40 years. 

The magic for the Wolfpack, in large part due to star big man DJ Burns, continued into late March and even April as NC State went on a run of all runs with stunning upsets over Marquette and Duke en route to the Final Four before ultimately falling to Purdue.

It was no secret that the loss of Burns and stellar guard DJ Horne, who are both playing professionally overseas now, were going to leave large holes for Keatts' club, but NC State's fall from grace in less than 365 days has been quite unbelievable.

After starting conference play with a 2-2 record, the Wolfpack went on to lose nine straight games in the ACC and a regular season finale loss to Miami, the worst team in the conference, was the ugly icing on the cake that ended Keatts' tenure in Raleigh.

Keatts first took over NC State ahead of the 2017 campaign after a dominant three-year stint at UNC Wilmington where he posted a record of 72-28. He'll leave NC State with a 151-113 mark and a total of three NCAA Tournament appearances in eight seasons.