Who Is Justin Gainey? NC State's New Head Coach Who Is Taking Over For Will Wade Who Left Head Coach Position Following Coaching 2025-2026 Season To Become Head Coach Of LSU

Who is Justin Gainey?

NC State’s new Head Coach who is taking over for Will Wade who left Head Coach position following coaching 2025-2026 season to become Head Coach of LSU.

Justin Gainey comes NC State following being on Head Coach Rick Barnes coaching staff at Tennessee where for five seasons including 2025-2026 season where he was in third season as Associate Head Coach was one of head coach Rick Barnes’ most critical recruiting wins following the 2020-21 season was securing the services of Gainey, a proven veteran with previous coaching experience in the ACC, BIG EAST, Pac-12 and beyond.

Through the 2024-25 campaign, Gainey boasts 19 years of Division I coaching and administrative experience, with 13 of them at the Power Six level. He was named Jan. 12, 2026, to the Silver Waves Media 100 Most Impactful High Major Coaches List.

“I coached against Justin when he was the point guard at NC State,” Barnes said at the time of his hire. “He was an incredibly tough competitor then and he has that same tenacity now as a coach. Justin has a passion for on-court player development that fits well with our staff. Our players are going to love working with him to grow their game. He’s proven that he can recruit effectively nationwide and we’re particularly excited about his ability to maintain our strong ties throughout the state of North Carolina.”

Gainey has helped the Volunteers log a 109-36 (.752) record and reach the NCAA Tournament each season. Tennessee has totaled three Sweet 16 berths and two Elite Eight appearances, as well as a pair of SEC titles (2022 tournament, 2024 regular season). The team has been ranked in the AP top 25 for every week of Gainey’s four-year tenure, including earning 50 top-10 nods, and finished a program-best fifth nationally three times (2022, 2024, 2025). He has coached five NBA Draft picks, including at least one each year with four selected in the top 40, at Tennessee, plus helped six individuals accumulate nine total All-SEC honors.

During Gainey’s first year on staff as an assistant coach in 2021-22, Tennessee went 27-8 (14-4 SEC) and, for the first time in 43 years, won the SEC Tournament. Tennessee amassed four AP top-10 victories to tie the school record set in 1976-77 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Gainey handled the scout for the team’s victories over sixth-ranked Arizona and No. 14 Arkansas.

Upon his promotion to associate head coach in 2022-23, Gainey also assumed duties as the team’s defensive coordinator. Under his tutelage, the Volunteers led the nation in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency with a historically strong mark of 87.5 points per 100 possessions. Tennessee’s scoring defense (57.9 ppg) was the best by an SEC team since 2014-15 and its 3-point defense (26.5) was the second-lowest among all Division I programs since at least 2007-08.

Buoyed by its elite defense, Tennessee notched a 25-11 (11-7 SEC) record and logged a 5-1 ledger versus AP top-15 foes, including knocking off top-ranked Alabama. The Volunteers reached the Sweet 16 after beating No. 12 Duke, which they held to a season-low 52 points, tying the Blue Devils’ lowest scoring output ever in an NCAA Tournament game.

In 2023-24, Tennessee finished third in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency (90.2) and totaled a 27-9 (14-4 SEC) record. It made the Elite Eight for the second time ever, won the SEC regular season title outright and tied the then-school record, set during Gainey’s first year in 2021-22, with seven AP top-25 triumphs. Dalton Knecht, a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award, won SEC Player of the Year and the Julius Erving Award plaudits, plus claimed consensus First Team All-America status.

During the recent 2024-25 campaign, Gainey aided Tennessee to its first season that included 30 victories and an Elite Eight appearance. The Volunteers finished 30-8 (12-6 SEC), reached the NCAA Regional Final for the second year in a row and tied a program best by finishing fifth nationally in the polls. They spent the entire year in the AP top 12, with 18 weeks in a row in the top eight and five at No. 1 overall. Tennessee had 10 AP top-25 wins, seven AP top-15 triumphs and four AP top-10 victories, the former two program records and the latter tying the school’s best mark. Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler formed the only All-America teammate tandem in the nation, while Zeigler won SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Zeigler and fellow Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist Jahmai Mashack anchored a team that finished third in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency (89.7) and fourth in 3-point percentage defense (28.7).

With Gainey imparting the nuance of point guard play, Tennessee has finished top-25 nationally in assist rate every year, including twice placing top-six, and posted a mark over 60 percent in each campaign. Additionally, Tennessee’s starting floor general—Kennedy Chandler in 2021-22, Zakai Zeigler in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25—has earned All-SEC status in all four years. Zeigler became the fourth player in SEC history to lead the league in assists three years in a row and the first to be a four-time All-SEC Defensive Team selection.

Before being hired as NC State’s new Head Coach Tennessee Head Rick Barnes shared his thoughts on Justin Gainey then his Associate Head Coach by saying I hope he gets the job,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes told reporters Saturday, endorsing his lead assistant. “I don’t think there’s anybody in the country that loves N.C. State more than Justin Gainey. He’s a North Carolina native. He went to N.C. State, played four years there, started four years.”

According Jadyn Watson Fisher News & Observer article https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/nc-state/article315223138.html

Justin Gainey is familiar with NC State because he played four seasons as a guard for NC State from 1996 -2000The Wolfpack’s record steadily improved throughout his career and the program earned postseason appearances all four years. Gainey was elected team captain as a senior in 1999-2000 and led that squad to the NIT semifinals.

At the conclusion of his playing career at NC State, Gainey ranked second in program history in starts (103), fourth in steals (190), co-fifth in games played (128) and ninth in assists (344).

Gainey earned ACC All-Tournament Team honors as a freshman in 1997. Three years later, in the quarterfinals of his last ACC Tournament, Gainey recorded nine steals during a win over Virginia on March 10, 2000, good for a mark still stands as the second-most steals in a game by a Wolfpack player.
According to https://utsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/justin-gainey/5684