Wake Forest’s season ends with declined NIT bid

The Deacons will not play in the NIT and announced via news release that their season is over on Sunday night, shortly after the NCAA tournament bracket was unveiled.

“While we are certainly disappointed that we did not make the NCAA Tournament, we believe declining the invitation to the NIT is the right decision for this team at this time,” said coach Steve Forbes, who has wrapped up his fifth season at Wake Forest. “… Now, our focus shifts to the future as we aggressively attack the roster-building process for the 2025-26 season.

“We are excited about what’s ahead and look forward to continuing to elevate Wake Forest basketball.”

Wake Forest, being one of the two highest-finishing teams in the ACC standings that didn’t receive an NCAA tournament bid, was guaranteed of an NIT bid because of a rule shift in the selection process. The Deacons finished tied for fourth with North Carolina and SMU and were the 4-seed in this past week’s ACC tournament because they beat both teams in the regular season.

Wake’s season ended with a 21-11 record. The Deacons lost to UNC, 68-59, in the quarterfinal round of the ACC tournament on Thursday.

“I’m proud of Coach Steve Forbes, our student-athletes and our fans for bringing back excitement to Wake Forest basketball,” athletics director John Currie said through a news release, “including this year’s win over 2025 Big Ten Champion Michigan, our 13-7 ACC mark which earned our highest league finish since 2009, and running our four-year win total to 86, a dramatic improvement compared to the previous the 11-year stretch when we averaged just 12 wins season.

“I deeply respect how difficult it is for the members of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to choose from 332 teams for just 37 at-large spots. The embedded principles which enabled six teams who finished at below .500 in their conferences to take 16% of those at large spots don’t make sense to me.”

Currie’s quotes also acknowledged that Wake Forest celebrated the program’s 25th anniversary of the team that won the 2000 NIT championship, on the penultimate weekend of the regular season.

But he also said: “However, this year, it is appropriate to conclude the season, celebrate the accomplishments of our seniors - Cameron Hildreth, Efton Reid III, Hunter Sallis, Kevin Dunn and RJ Kennah - and begin preparing for the 2025-26 season.”

Wake Forest has played in the NIT in two of the previous three seasons. The Deacons won two home games in 2022 before going to Texas A&M and losing in the quarterfinal round; last season, the Deacons beat Appalachian State at home before losing to Georgia (also at home).

The timing of the transfer portal is a factor to consider. The portal opens a week and a day from now, on March 24, and runs through April 22 — though, graduate transfers or players whose coaches have exited in the past 30 days are eligible to already be in the portal.

Wake Forest appears in need a retooled roster, given senior guards Sallis and Hildreth are out of eligibility. Reid’s status hangs in the air because of an NCAA ruling; senior forward Tre’Von Spillers is eligible to return because of his prior experience in junior college.

That quartet combined for 125 starts this past season (out of a possible 160).

Around mid-February, Wake Forest appeared to be in good position to earn its second NCAA tournament berth of the last 15 seasons.

The Deacons were 18-6 and led by 16 with about eight minutes left at home against Florida State. They blew that game but seemingly made amends on the résumé by winning at SMU three days later.

Two more losses to unimpressive teams — at N.C. State, which didn’t qualify for the league’s tournament, and home against Virginia — followed the win at SMU. Getting blown out at Duke in the last week of the regular season didn’t help Wake’s metrics, nor did losing to UNC — which wound up being one of the last four teams into the NCAA tournament and plays in Dayton.

Instead, the only appearance is a First Four loss to Kansas State in 2017.