Neptune out as Villanova coach after 3 seasons
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Jeff Borzello
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Jeff Borzello
ESPN Staff Writer
- Basketball recruiting insider.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.
Villanova has fired men’s basketball coach Kyle Neptune after three seasons, the school announced Saturday.
Assistant coach Mike Nardi will serve as interim head coach while the school searches for Neptune’s successor.
Villanova athletic director Eric Roedl thanked Neptune for his “tireless work ethic and his dedication” in a statement announcing his dismissal.
“We are grateful to Kyle for his long service to Villanova and his mentorship to the many outstanding young men he has coached,” Roedl added.
Neptune, who replaced Jay Wright following the Hall of Famer’s retirement in 2022, will end his tenure without an NCAA tournament appearance. The Wildcats briefly played their way onto the bubble toward the end of the regular season, but a road loss to Georgetown in the season finale and a 17-point defeat to UConn in the Big East tournament quarterfinals ended their NCAA tournament hopes.
Although Neptune was given the unenviable task of filling the shoes of a coach who led Villanova to two national championships and four Final Fours, he struggled almost immediately to generate sustained momentum. The Wildcats started 2-5 in his first season, with eyebrow-raising losses to Temple and Portland — a trend that became a theme during his time on the Main Line.
They finished 17-17 in Year 1 then suffered losses to Philadelphia Big 5 rivals Penn, Saint Joseph’s and Drexel in the first month of the 2023-24 campaign. Villanova surged in February but struggled to close the campaign and finished 18-16 despite being ranked in the preseason Top 25.
With Neptune clearly entering a pivotal season in 2024-25, Villanova lost by 10 at home to Columbia in the second game of the campaign and opened with four losses in its first seven games. A 1-5 stretch in January dropped the Wildcats to 12-10 overall.
Villanova went 54-47 during Neptune’s three seasons at the helm.
Under Wright, Villanova made the NCAA tournament in 16 of his final 17 seasons, winning at least one tournament game in each of his final eight postseasons. The last time the Wildcats missed the NCAA tournament in three straight seasons came in 2002 to 2004, Wright’s first three seasons in charge.
Prior to replacing Wright, Neptune was the head coach at Fordham for one season. He served as an assistant coach under Wright at Villanova from 2013 to 2021 and was the video coordinator for the Wildcats from 2008 to 2010.
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