After Villanova head coach Jay Wright’s retirement on Wednesday night, questions were asked of the 2022-2023 roster’s composition. Villanova seniors Caleb Daniels and Brandon Slater, both expected to utilize extra years of eligibility due to COVID-19, were no longer guaranteed to return, and 2022 recruits Cam Whitmore, Mark Armstrong and Brendan Hausen faced decisions over whether to reaffirm their commitment to Villanova or look elsewhere. The three high school seniors had committed to play for Wright, but with Kyle Neptune on the sidelines instead, many expected them to reconsider.

However, many of these question marks have been answered. On Friday, Armstrong was the first to announce he was staying, as his father told NJ Advance Media “We ain’t going nowhere.” On Saturday, Slater decided to return, telling Stadium that he would utilize his fifth year of eligibility to stay at Villanova. Finally, on Monday, Whitmore also announced he was remaining with the ‘Cats, posting a picture of himself on Instagram with the caption, “im coolan nth changing.”

Now, only the decisions of Hausen and Daniels remain for Villanova. Daniels is expected to return, but hasn’t officially announced anything nor a timeline for a decision. The deadline for transferring with immediate eligibility elsewhere is May 1, although transfers can request a waiver for immediate eligibility after that date. Hausen, from Amarillo, Texas, is traveling to Villanova to “see what it’s about,” and while he was initially expected to see campus today, travel issues delayed his visit to Tuesday, per Adam Zagoria.

The decisions of Whitmore and Armstrong may not have been a surprise, but both come as a relief. The two attended Villanova’s 2021-22 end of season banquet, where Wright announced their attendance to their crowd, saying “Welcome to the family.” In his final press conference on Friday, Wright was optimistic that all three recruits would remain committed, and in Neptune’s introduction immediately after, he was quickly asked if he’d spoken to the three.

“I’ve talked to all of them,” Neptune said. “I think we’ve had great conversations and we’ll continue to talk over the next couple of days.”

Now, two of the three have made maintaining their commitments official. 

Shortly after Whitmore’s announcement, Armstrong made his pitch to Hausen to remain committed. Armstrong quote tweeted The Villanovan’s Matthew Ryan, tweeting “Mark & Cam ; Cam & Mark — @HausenBrendan ?” In an interview with The Villanovan, Hausen mentioned that he and Armstrong talked regularly, saying they were in communication “probably every hour or so.”

“It’s been nice to have somebody that I could potentially be playing with reaching out,” Hausen said.

Although the Wildcats lose two of their most important players next season, as graduates Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels have exhausted their eligibility, expectations are high with the return of Slater and the additions of at least Whitmore and Armstrong. Villanova is a projected top-15 team in the nation next year, even without Wright, and is one of the favorites to win the Big East.

Neptune has made it known that one of his biggest goals is continuity and maintaining the standards set by Wright, and his first test was maintaining Wright’s final recruiting class. With at least two of the three staying committed, Neptune has his first victories as Villanova’s head coach.