The pipeline from former Villanova Wildcats head men’s basketball coach to CBS Sports analyst is becoming increasingly seamless.
Jay Wright has thrived in his second career, offering surprising insights from his time at CBS. After being fired from his most recent post at the University just outside of Philadelphia, Wright’s successor, Kyle Neptune, had the chance to test the waters in the media world.
On Saturday night, Neptune debuted on CBS Sports Network’s NCAA March Madness 360, appearing in both the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. shows alongside analysts Roy Hibbert, Gary Parrish, Avery Johnson and Pete Gillen.
Although Neptune hasn’t publicly expressed an interest in a television career, his background suggests otherwise. A 2007 Lehigh University graduate with a journalism degree, Neptune seems to follow in the footsteps of his former mentor, Wright, and another former Wildcats head coach, Steve Lappas.
Even for one night only.
He wasn’t the only former Philadelphia-area head coach to make his TV debut this weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Fran Dunphy was on CBS Sports Network on Friday, as well. The 76-year-old Dunphy recently coached his final collegiate basketball game for La Salle, but if you know Dunphy well, he has difficulty saying no. If another Big 5 school comes calling, who knows?
But the spotlight here was on Neptune, who made a confident and smooth television debut. Despite his limited experience, his insight and natural on-air presence showed he could transition seamlessly into this new role.
I don’t know if Kyle Neptune imagined a few months ago that he would end up on the studio show for the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship game. https://t.co/XKa3UCovnd pic.twitter.com/O1itbmNRHM
— Sports TV News & Updates (@TVSportsUpdates) March 23, 2025
“Creighton, they have two married guys on their team.” 😂@kyleneptune points out Auburn (1) vs. Creighton (9) will be a matchup between two old teams. pic.twitter.com/c46uc0hUTA
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 22, 2025
He showed a few sides of himself that hadn’t been seen before and impressed viewers with his natural ability to analyze the game.
Shoutout Kyle Neptune man. https://t.co/imODMoFxTn
— Freddy (@FredFreezo) March 23, 2025
Kyle Neptune is making for a good analysis on CBS tonight.
Love seeing him find other opportunities.
pic.twitter.com/feez4k9shn— Villanova Enthusiast 😾 (@NovaKnowsBall) March 22, 2025
It’s good to see Kyle talking about basketball again on CBS’ coverage.
He also has a journalism degree from Lehigh.
Neptune is going to get a coaching opportunity again probably sooner rather than later. But I think he has great potential as an analyst. https://t.co/AR1hjQbnHw
— David Szczepanski (@WXVUDavidS) March 22, 2025
Kyle Neptune settling into his new role nicely!
Happy to see Coach smiling, talking about the game he loves seamlessly. pic.twitter.com/X8Krytlhba
— Tommy Godin (@tommygodinjr) March 22, 2025
Neptune’s debut on CBS shows that his shift from coaching to broadcasting is more than just a brief detour; perhaps it could start a promising new chapter. With his easy on-air presence, Villanova fans might argue that he proved more adept at navigating the media world than he did the sidelines.
But the newly fired head coach is just 40 years old, carrying a 70-63 (0-2 NIT) record over his six seasons with Fordham and Villanova. Given his age and experience, this is far from the last we’ve seen of Neptune — whether in the coaching ranks or as a rising star in sports media.
