After three years leading the team as head coach, Kyle Neptune was fired by Villanova University.
Villanova fired Kyle Neptune after a three-year run where he succeeded Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright and failed to ever make the NCAA Tournament.
The school announced on Saturday, March 15 that Neptune "will no longer serve" as the head coach of their basketball team.
As the school looks to find their replacement, assistant coach Mike Nardi will serve in the interim.
This was the first major decision made by Eric Roedl, a Villanova alumnus hired earlier this season as the athletic director.
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“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. “We are grateful to Kyle for his long service to Villanova and his mentorship to the many outstanding young men he has coached.”
Neptune replaced Jay Wright as head coach after his retirement in 2022.
"In three seasons, Neptune posted a 54-47 record (.535), including a 19-14 mark in 2024-25 (.576) that included victories over Top 25 opponents Connecticut, St. John’s and Marquette," a spokesperson with the school wrote in a statement.
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This comes as 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.
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.
