Wake signs coach Forbes to long-term extension

Wake Forest signed men’s basketball coach Steve Forbes to a long-term contract extension Monday, the school announced.

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 were not 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 the decade.

The extension signals both Forbes’ happiness and long-term commitment to Wake Forest and the school’s appreciation of the job he has done in two seasons. After going 6-16 in 2020-21, Forbes guided Wake Forest to a 23-8 record this season, and ESPN projects the Demon Deacons 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 a bid in 2020 before the NCAA tournament was 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, with the help of ACC Player of the Year Alondes Williams, 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.