Jay Wright will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday, Oct. 22, in Kansas City, Missouri. The former Villanova University head coach won two national championships and compiled a 642-282 record over 28 seasons.
Wright joins the Hall's Class of 2026 alongside coaches Tubby Smith and Ted Owens and players Danny Ainge, Glen Rice and the late Walt Hazzard. The ceremony takes place at the College Basketball Experience, according to Villanova.
Wright spent 21 of his 28 head-coaching seasons at Villanova, just miles from Radnor and Haverford. Born in Churchville, Pennsylvania, he grew up a Wildcats fan. He guided the program to national titles in 2016 and 2018, four Final Four appearances and 13 combined Big East regular-season and tournament championships.
A Villanova delegation led by University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue is scheduled to attend the ceremony. Wright now serves as a special assistant to Donohue.
The honor is Wright's second. He entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
Before arriving at Villanova in 2001, Wright built his coaching résumé at Hofstra University, where he won four America East Conference titles in seven seasons. He was a two-time Naismith College Coach of the Year and a six-time Big East Coach of the Year.
Wright's path was not always smooth. Three years after reaching the Final Four in 2009, Villanova posted 19 losses in a single season. Wright told the New York Post he faulted himself for straying from the program's identity. "A lot of those guys came with a one-and-done mentality, and we didn't explain to them what our culture is," Wright said. "It was on me. We just took them."
That reset shaped the recruiting philosophy that produced back-to-back championship rosters.
Kevin Henderson, CEO of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, said the Class of 2026 represents individuals whose performance and leadership helped shape the game. The 2026 class is the 20th group inducted since the Hall opened in 2006 with a class that included John Wooden, Dean Smith, Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell.
