NC State hires UNC Wilmington’s Kevin Keatts, according to report

North Carolina State has hired UNC Wilmington head coach Kevin Keatts to the same position, Jeff Goodman of ESPN is reporting. This announcement comes just a day after UNC Wilmington’s 76-71 loss to Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Keatts went 72-28 in three seasons at UNC Wilmington including back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament the last two years. The Seahawks won at least a share of the CAA regular season title in each of his three seasons at the helm. He served as an assistant at Louisville under Rick Pitino prior to being hired by UNC Wilmington in 2014.

The 44-year-old Keatts replaces Mark Gottfried, who was unceremoniously fired by NC State in the middle of the season. NC State was also rumored to be targeting Dayton coach Archie Miller before ultimately deciding that Keatts was their guy. This appears to be a great hire for NC State and a huge loss for UNC Wilmington.

Terms of Keatts’ signing were not immediately available.