Villanova fires coach Kyle Neptune after 3 years and no NCAA Tournament appearances
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Villanova fired Kyle Neptune on Saturday after a three-year run where he succeeded Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright and failed to ever make the NCAA Tournament.
Neptune went 54-47 overall and 31-29 in the Big East in three seasons with the Wildcats, including a 19-14 record this season. The Wildcats — who won two national championships under Wright — lost to UConn on Thursday night in a Big East Conference Tournament quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden.
It was the first major decision made by Eric Roedl, a Villanova alumnus hired earlier this season as the athletic director.
“Since coming to Villanova, I have been struck by Kyle’s tireless work ethic and his dedication to the student-athletes he served,” Roedl said in a statement. “We are grateful to Kyle for his long service to Villanova and his mentorship to the many outstanding young men he has coached.”
Neptune felt the heat this season as the Wildcats — once a perennial Big East winner and national title contender — slid into mediocrity and out of national prominence. Not even regular-season wins over St. John’s and UConn could offset the overall lack of consistency in a season that also included losses to Columbia and Saint Joseph’s.
The 40-year-old Neptune served under Wright on the Villanova coaching staff before accepting the head coaching position at Fordham in 2021. Neptune went 16-16 in his lone season at Fordham.
Wright, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, guided Villanova to titles in 2016 and 2018 and led the Wildcats to two other Final Four appearances. He went 520-197 in 21 seasons at the school and has remained a steady presence at Villanova games. He now works for CBS.
The Wildcats will miss the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season for the first time since Wright’s first three seasons more than 20 years ago. Wright was given the grace period Neptune was not in large part because this was no rebuild on the Main Line — the program boasted healthy NIL coffers and had the nation’s leading scorer this season in Eric Dixon.
Villanova could still play in the new College Basketball Crown tournament later this month in Las Vegas.
Assistant Mike Nardi will serve as interim head coach.
The program that once anchored its success on the Villanova Way — a mini-dynasty built on NBA-ready upperclassmen — has become discombobulated under the roster chaos born of NIL money and the transfer portal. The yearly roster turnover has done little to build the culture — where senior stars once taught the new kids the concept of Villanova basketball — that was once a championship hallmark under Wright.
Well-liked and respected by all in the program, Neptune had downplayed criticism throughout his tenure, insisting over the last two seasons as fan unrest grew on the suburban campus that he didn’t hear fans who booed him at times during pregame introductions or the horde that chanted “Fire Neptune!”
Wright floored Villanova when he retired at 60 years old just weeks after leading the Wildcats to a Final Four in 2022. Neptune was hired the same month. He first came to Villanova in 2008, serving two seasons as video coordinator. Neptune returned as an assistant coach in 2013 and worked under Wright as Villanova rose into a perennial Final Four contender.
That success as an assistant never carried over once Neptune got the top job. Villanova now will look to hire only its fifth coach since 1973.
The question is, will ties to Wright even matter as the search for a new coach ramps up or will Villanova look outside the program for a fresh start?
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Topics
-
Villanova fires coach Kyle Neptune after 3 seasons, failing to reach the NCAA tournament
Kyle Neptune didn't make the NCAA tournament once after he took over for Jay Wright.Yahoo Sports - 6h -
Report: Villanova fires coach Kyle Neptune after 3 years and no NCAA Tournament appearances
Neptune went 54-47 overall in three seasons with the Wildcats, including a 19-14 record this season.Yahoo Sports - 5h -
Villanova fires Kyle Neptune after three seasons, no NCAA Tournament appearances
Villanova fires Kyle Neptune after three seasons at the helm.Yahoo Sports - 5h -
Villanova fires Kyle Neptune: Jay Wright's successor failed to make Big Dance in three years as program dipped
Villanova has missed the past three NCAA Tournaments after making the Final Four in Wright's finale in 2021-22CBS Sports - 6h -
Neptune out as Villanova coach after 3 seasons
Villanova has fired men's basketball coach Kyle Neptune after three seasons with the Wildcats.ESPN - 11m -
Arizona State fires women's hoops coach Adair
Arizona State has fired women's basketball coach Natasha Adair after three seasons of not making the NCAA tournament.ESPN - Mar. 8 -
Minnesota fires Johnson after 4 years as coach
Ben Johnson had served as Minnesota coach since 2021-22 but was unable to return the Gophers to the NCAA tournament.ESPN - 2d -
NC State fires Keatts a year after Final Four run
NC State fired Kevin Keatts as the school's men's basketball coach, making the move a year after he led the Wolfpack on an unexpected run to the Final Four.ESPN - 6d -
NC State fires men's basketball coach Kevin Keatts after 8 seasons
Keatts coached the Wolfpack to three NCAA tournament bids during his six seasons in Raleigh and advanced to the Final Four in 2024.Yahoo Sports - 6d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Watch: Brandon Jones and Al Davis at March 15 practice
Video of Mizzou offensive line coach Brandon Jones and defensive line coach Al Davis after March 15 practice.Yahoo Sports - 10m -
Okereke scores 25 in Cornell's 87-71 win over Dartmouth in Ivy League Tournament
AK Okereke had 25 points in Cornell's 87-71 win over Dartmouth on Saturday in the Ivy League Tournament. Cornell, the tournament's No. 2 seed, will face top-seeded Yale in Sunday's championship ...Yahoo Sports - 10m -
UNLV fires coach Kevin Kruger, one of the program's links to its glory-day past
Coach Kevin Kruger, who led UNLV to the Sweet 16 as the team's point guard in 2007 while playing for his father, Hall of Famer Lon Kruger, was fired by the Rebels on Saturday. Kruger went 76-55 in ...Yahoo Sports - 11m -
Grant Nelson questionable to return to Alabama's game against Florida
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Alabama basketball forward Grant Nelson suffered an injury to his left leg and is questionable toYahoo Sports - 14m -
Unpacking Future Packers: No. 45, Oregon OT Josh Conerly Jr
Up next in the Unpacking Future Packers draft preview series is Oregon OT Josh Conerly JrYahoo Sports - 14m
More in Sports
-
College basketball coaching changes: Kyle Neptune out at Nova, Fran McCaffery done at Iowa
Matt Norlander has the latest intel on what's happening in coaching searches nationwide, including a change out WestCBS Sports - 9m -
Watch: Brandon Jones and Al Davis at March 15 practice
Video of Mizzou offensive line coach Brandon Jones and defensive line coach Al Davis after March 15 practice.Yahoo Sports - 10m -
Okereke scores 25 in Cornell's 87-71 win over Dartmouth in Ivy League Tournament
AK Okereke had 25 points in Cornell's 87-71 win over Dartmouth on Saturday in the Ivy League Tournament. Cornell, the tournament's No. 2 seed, will face top-seeded Yale in Sunday's championship ...Yahoo Sports - 10m -
UNLV fires coach Kevin Kruger, one of the program's links to its glory-day past
Coach Kevin Kruger, who led UNLV to the Sweet 16 as the team's point guard in 2007 while playing for his father, Hall of Famer Lon Kruger, was fired by the Rebels on Saturday. Kruger went 76-55 in ...Yahoo Sports - 11m -
Neptune out as Villanova coach after 3 seasons
Villanova has fired men's basketball coach Kyle Neptune after three seasons with the Wildcats.ESPN - 11m