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Jeff Borzello
Kevin Willard of Maryland has accepted Villanova’s offer to become the next head coach, confirmed sources in ESPN, ending more than a week of speculation.
An official announcement could arrive as soon as Sunday.
Maryland has just finished one of its best seasons in the past 20 years, winning 4 series heads in the NCAA tournament and taking place at Sweet 16 before falling into Florida to the head of the seed. The terraaps finished 27-9 in total and 14-6 in the Big Ten and were classified in the Top 10 in most of the predictive measures. After a start of 1-3 for the Big Ten game, Maryland lost only four games against the opponents of Big Ten the rest of the season by nine combined points.
Willard spent three seasons at College Park, going 65-39 with two appearances to the NCAA tournament.
He made the headlines before the match of the Maryland NCAA tournament against the Grand Canyon when he essentially announced the news of the sports director of Maryland, Damon Evans, leaving for SMU and explained why he had not signed again contract in College Park.
“I have to make fundamental changes to the program,” said Willard. “This is what I am concentrating at the moment. This is why an agreement has probably not been concluded because I want to see – I need to see fundamental changes made. I want this program to be great. I want it to be the best in the country, I want to win a national championship, but there are things that should change.
“I have to make sure that we are where we are with Nile, and Rev Share is not where we have been with Nile in the past two years. We have been one of the worst, if not the lowest, in the Nile in the past two years. So, it is above all. I also have to spend an additional night in New York is because it is too expensive.
While Maryland eliminated the Grand Canyon and the State of Colorado to go to the first Sweet 16 in Willard and the first for the terps since 2016, the message of the head coach has not changed. He recognized Thursday after the defeat of Maryland 16 against Florida that he did not know his next step.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” said Willard. “I’m going to be honest with you. I didn’t talk to my agent. I didn’t speak to my wife.”
In Villanova, Willard will replace Kyle Neptune, who did not reach the NCAA tournament in one of his three seasons in charge of the Wildcats. Neptune took over in 2022 after the sudden retirement of the renowned temple coach Jay Wright, who led Villanova to two national championships and four appearances in the Final Four.
He marks a return to the Big East for Willard, a native of Long Island, New York, who spent 12 seasons as head coach of Seton Hall. He led the pirates to five appearances at the NCAA tournament and to a share of the title of the regular season of Big East in 2020 – when the program was on the right track for his seeded of the NCAA tournament in almost 30 years before the cancellation of the tournament due to the pandemic.
Before taking over at Seton Hall, Willard was head coach in Iona for three seasons and assistant coach under Rick Pitino in Louisville and with the Boston Celtics. Willard’s father, Ralph, had previously spent time on Pitino staff with several stops.
The news of Willard accepting the offer of Villanova was reported for the first time by Inside Maryland Sports.
