After days of speculation, Villanova officially announced Kevin Willard as the Wildcats’ new head men’s basketball coach. Willard spent the last three seasons at Maryland and recently led the Terps to the Sweet Sixteen.
“Coach Willard is an outstanding leader of young men and brings extensive experience and success as a head coach to Villanova,” said AD Eric Roedl. “We are excited about the future of Villanova Basketball under his leadership, and look forward to welcoming Coach, his wife Julie, and their sons—Colin and Chase—to the Villanova community.”
Willard has been a head coach for the last 18 seasons, starting at Iona (2007-10) before a long tenure at Seton Hall (2010-22) and most recently at Maryland (2022-25). He won a share of the Big East title with the Pirates in 2020 and has an overall record of 335-249 as a D-I head coach. This year was his first-ever trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
“My family and I would like to thank the Villanova Board of Trustees, President Father Peter Donohue and Eric Roedl for this incredible opportunity,” said Willard. “Villanova Basketball has a deep tradition of excellence and a culture that is second to none in college basketball. We are thrilled to be a part of it and join the Villanova community.”
The hiring sparked controversy as rumors began earlier this week while the Terrapins season was still ongoing. After the 4-seed Terrapins were eliminated by top-seeded Florida on Thursday, Willard was non-committal about his future. Reports indicate that while Villanova was pursuing Willard, Maryland was also trying to keep him in College Park. It wasn’t until late Saturday night that news of his decision to head back to the Big East was leaked.
Villanova parted ways with Kyle Neptune earlier this month after three underwhelming years at the helm. Neptune had been part of Jay Wright’s staff during both of their recent NCAA National Championships, but his lack of head coaching experience (just one year at Fordham) garnered mixed reviews at best. The Wildcats missed the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons and suffered a number of uncharacteristic losses along the way. This year’s squad will play in the inaugural College Basketball Crown next week in Vegas, where they will be led by interim head coach Mike Nardi.