Will Wade adds former MSU coach Rick Stansbury to staff

By Hunt Palmer

Will Wade’s first staff addition come with serious name recognition.

Former Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury has been hired according to CBS insider Jon Rothstein who reported the news on Friday.

Stansbury is the winningest head in Bulldog history. He posted a record of 239-166 (.638) in Starkville from 1998 to 2012 winning 55 percent of his conference games. He made six NCAA Tournaments, won the SEC in 2004 and captured a pair of SEC Tournament titles.

Source: Rick Stansbury — the all-time winningest head coach in Mississippi State history — has officially signed an agreement to be the Associate Head Coach at LSU under Will Wade.

A seismic recruiting addition in the SEC landscape.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 3, 2026

Stansbury also won Conference USA at Western Kentucky where he spent seven seasons. He’s been an assistant for Penny Hardaway at Memphis since 2023.

Over the course of his career, Stansbury has been regarded as a high-level recruiter. Memphis secured two top 10 classes with Stansbury on staff.

Wade hired Stansbury’s oldest son, Isaac, while at McNeese and brought him to North Carolina State for a season. At his introductory press conference, Wade suggested he would have a “shell recruiting staff” for the opening of the transfer portal on April 7.