Kevin Willard, who led Maryland to the Sweet 16 of this season's NCAA tournament, has accepted Villanova's offer to become the program's head basketball coach, sources told ESPN.
's offer to become the program's next head coach, sources confirmed to ESPN, bringing an end to more than a week of speculation.Maryland just completed one of its best seasons in the past 20 years, earning a 4-seed in the NCAA tournament and making a run to the Sweet 16 before falling to top-seeded. The Terrapins finished 27-9 overall and 14-6 in the Big Ten and were ranked in the top 10 in most predictive metrics.
He made headlines before Maryland's first-round NCAA tournament game against Grand Canyon, when he essentially broke the news of Maryland athletic director Damon Evans leaving for"I need to make fundamental changes to the program," Willard said."That's what I'm focused on right now. That's why probably a deal hasn't got done because I want to see - I need to see fundamental changes done. I want this program to be great.
As Maryland knocked off Grand Canyon and Colorado State to advance to Willard's first Sweet 16 and the first for the Terps since 2016, the head coach's message didn't change. He acknowledged after Maryland's Sweet 16 loss to Florida on Thursday that he didn't know his next step. At Villanova, Willard will replace Kyle Neptune, who failed to reach the NCAA tournament in any of his three seasons in charge of the Wildcats. Neptune took over in 2022 following the sudden retirement of Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright, who led Villanova to two national championships and four Final Four appearances.
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