April 20 (UPI) — Basketball Hall of Famer Jay Wright is expected to retire after 21 seasons as the men’s basketball head coach at Villanova.
ESPN, Stadium and The Athletic reported Wednesday that Fordham’s Kyle Neptune, who spent 10 years under Wright as a video coordinator and assistant coach, will replace Wright as head coach at Villanova.
Wright has called a team meeting for Wednesday night, according to the outlets.
The 60-year-old Wright has been the head coach at Villanova since 2001. He captured two national championships — in 2016 and 2018 — and made four Final Four appearances, including one this past season.
Wright was named Naismith Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2016, and he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
ESPN reported that Wright’s intention is to retire from coaching, not only at Villanova. According to the outlet, NBA teams have contacted him in recent years, though becoming an NBA head coach held less appeal with Wright.
Over his 21 seasons with the Wildcats, Wright posted a 520-197 record and won at least 30 games on six occasions. He claimed eight Big East regular-season titles and five Big East Conference tournament championships.
Before taking over at Villanova, Wright served as head coach at Hofstra for seven seasons. He won two America East titles and made two NCAA tourney appearances.
Neptune has been the head coach at Fordham for just one season. He guided the Rams to a 16-16 record this past season — a 14-win improvement from their 2020-21 campaign.