Kyle Neptune Named as Jay Wright’s Successor at Villanova

The current Fordham head coach was a long-time Villanova assistant.

Villanova head coach Jay Wright announced his retirement Wednesday, and his successor is already in place.

 The school announced the hiring of Fordham head coach Kyle Neptune as Wright’s replacement. CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein was the first to report.

Welcome Home! @kyleneptune has been named the new William B. Finneran Endowed Villanova Men’s Basketball Head Coach.

Release: https://t.co/sOdH73zrze#GoNova #NovaNation pic.twitter.com/3ovXdtXRVH

— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) April 21, 2022

Neptune is a former Villanova assistant, having spent 11 total seasons with the Wildcats during two separate stints. Most recently, Neptune was an assistant coach on Wright’s staff between 2013-21, including for each of Villanova’s last two NCAA championships in 2016 and 2018.

Fordham hired Neptune before the 2021 season, and the program went 16–16 in Neptune’s first season.

As a player, Neptune played four years at Lehigh University, and started 35 combined games in his junior and senior years. He joined Villanova as a video coordinator just one year after graduating.

Neptune is replacing a Villanova legend in Wright, who has been the head coach at the Big East power for the past 21 seasons. Along with two national championships, Wright led the Wildcats to four Final Fours in 16 NCAA tournament appearances, including three Final Fours since 2016. The Wildcats also won eight Big East regular season titles and five conference tournament titles under Wright. Villanova ended the 2021-22 season with an 81–65 loss to Kansas in the national semifinal.

With Wright’s retirement official, the head coach of four of the last seven national champions have retired in the last year, with the 60-year-old Wright joining Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams.