RALEIGH, N.C. (WBTV) – A former conference championship-winning head coach at North Carolina State University will transition to a broadcasting role this season, ESPN announced this week.
Kevin Keatts — who led NC State to the ACC Championship and Final Four in 2024 — will work as a studio analyst for ESPN and the ACC Network during the 2025-2026 season.
Keatts will make his broadcasting debut on Friday, Nov. 7, as part of coverage for the matchup between Kansas and UNC. That game will air on ESPN at 7 p.m. EST.
“I’m excited to join a talented lineup of industry veterans for ESPN’s coverage of college basketball this season,” the former Wolfpack coach told sister-station WECT. “This is a remarkable opportunity. I feel extraordinarily blessed.”
Keatts coached at NC State from 2017-2025, and ranks fifth in program history with 151 wins. He helped guide the Pack to one of the most improbable Final Four runs in college basketball history in 2024. During that run, the Wolfpack won five games in five days to claim the ACC crown, then advanced all the way to the national semifinals as an 11-seed. He was then fired after a disappointing 2024-2025 campaign.
Before his time at NC State, Keatts was at UNC Wilmington, where he won conference championships in two of his three years.
If Keatts’ Final Four run wasn’t reminiscent enough of Jim Valvano’s, it is worth noting that Valvano, too, went on to become a broadcaster after his time in Raleigh.
NC State hired former LSU and McNeese State coach Will Wade as Keatts’ replacement. Wade started off his Wolfpack tenure with a 114-66 win over North Carolina Central on Nov. 3.
Kevin Keatts (center, holding trophy) has taken a broadcasting role with ESPN and the ACC Network.(Tony Gutierrez | AP)
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