Sources: Wake, coach Forbes reach extension

Wake Forest and basketball coach Steve Forbes have agreed to a long-term contract extension, sources told ESPN.

Forbes is in the second year of his initial six-year deal at the school, and the new commitment will lock him in Winston Salem for a significant period of time. Forbes’ name has come up on the periphery of some high-profile job openings, as he won ACC Coach of the Year this season and is expected to lead Wake Forest to the school’s first NCAA tournament berth since 2017.

The terms of the deal are not expected to be released by the school, which is a private institution. But with Forbes’ initial contract through 2026, he’s expected to be a fixture in Winston Salem for the remainder of decade.

The extension signals both Forbes’ happiness and long-term commitment to Wake Forest and the school’s appreciation of the job he’s done in two seasons. After going 6-16 in 2020-21, Forbes has Wake Forest 23-8 and ESPN projects Wake as a No. 10 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Forbes came to Wake Forest from East Tennessee State, where he went 130-43 over five seasons. Forbes led East Tennessee to two regular-season Southern Conference Championships, an NCAA bid in 2017 and clinched a bid in 2020 before the NCAA tournament got canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forbes’ background, which includes three different stints as a junior college head coach, isn’t the traditional path of an ACC coach. But it has paid off, as ACC Player of the Year Alondes Williams is a former junior college star who transferred from Oklahoma before emerging as the ACC’s top player (19.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg).

Wake Forest has made just one appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2010. Forbes replaced Danny Manning, whose departure in 2020 included a significant buyout.

Wake Forest is the No. 5 seed in the upcoming ACC tournament.