Kevin Willard has accepted an offer to become Villanova's next men's basketball coach and will leave Maryland after three seasons, according to several reports.
Maryland's 2024-25 season ended with an 87-71 loss to Florida on Thursday in the NCAA tournament Sweet 16. It was the second tournament berth for the Terrapins in Willard's three seasons, during which he finished 65-39.
Willard returns to the Big East after 12 seasons at Seton Hall from 2010-2022, where he compiled a 333-248 record, seven NCAA tournament berths, a conference regular season championship and a tournament title. He began his head coaching career at Iona, registering a 45-49 record.
Villanova fired Kyle Neptune after the season and a 54-47 record and no NCAA tournament appearances. Soon after Neptune's dismissal, rumors linked Willard to the Wildcats despite him being under contract in College Park through 2029. (Villanova also reportedly showed interest in Richard Pitino, who left New Mexico for Big East rival Xavier last week.)
Additionally, he was discussing a contract extension that reportedly would have made him one of the 10 highest-paid coaches in college basketball and created one of the highest revenue share budgets in the country. Maryland was also preparing to build a new $50 million practice facility.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
