NC State Turning Attention To Justin Gainey
Following Schertz’s withdrawal, Nakos said NC State will focus on convincing Gainey to take the job. Gainey, who played four seasons for the Wolfpack in the late 1990s, has never been a head coach. Corrigan met with Gainey before Tennessee’s campaign ended with a loss to Michigan in the Elite Eight.
Gainey has a ton of college experience, starting with a return to NC State after retiring from professional basketball. After two years as the Wolfpack’s administrative coordinator (2006-08) on head coach Sidney Lowe’s staff, he was then promoted to director of operations (2008-09). He got his start as a college assistant coach with Elon in 2009-10.
Gainey has also been an assistant at Appalachian State (2010-2014), Santa Clara (2017-18), and Arizona (2018-20). He had two stints at Marquette under head coach Steve Wojciechowski, first as his director of operations (2014-17) and then as associate head coach (2020-21).
Gainey moved to Tennessee and served as an assistant coach during the 2021-22 season under Rick Barnes. He has been Barnes’ right-hand man, i.e., the associate head coach, since 2022.
“Since the jump of this search, On3 has reported that Gainey’s name was at the top of the list for NC State,” Nakos said. “He’s a proven high-major assistant and is a former player and staff member at NC State. He was a top name in the coaching search a year ago when they hired Will Wade. Gainey knows what expectations are at NC State and what the fanbase wants. There would be no pause to think about accepting an offer. At this point, it appears Gainey is the target for NC State.”
Early Look At NC State Basketball in 2026-27?
Whoever gets the Wolfpack job, and it certainly sounds like it will be Gainey, he will have to rebuild the roster completely. The Wolfpack won’t have five seniors, including four starters, from this past season’s squad that returned to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year hiatus. The Wolfpack went 20-14 and finished seventh in the ACC at 10-8.
However, Alyn Breed may return if he is granted an extra year of eligibility, Lou Pascucci of Pack Insider said. Sophomore Paul McNeil Jr. was one of the best shooters this past season and should be a priority for the program. Freshman Matt Able — a consensus top-20 recruit in 2025 — Zymychal Wilkins, Colt Langdon, and Jerry Deng are among others who could return.
NC State has signed two four-star prospects as part of their 2026 recruiting class with 6-11 center Trevon Carter-Givens and 6-7 wing Cole Cloer.
