Sunday, March 30 marked the beginning of a new chapter for Villanova basketball.
Villanova University announced in a release that Kevin Willard would be the next head men’s basketball coach. The decision was made after a two-week search to replace former head coach Kyle Neptune.
It was a decision that has the potential to prove it was worth the wait.
“My family and I would like to thank the Villanova Board of Trustees, President Father Peter Donohue and Eric Roedl for this incredible opportunity,” Willard said in the school’s press release. “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.”
Before Willard agreed to come to Villanova, he verbally agreed to a contract extension with Maryland that would have made him one of the top 10 highest-paid coaches in college basketball, according to CBS’s Jon Rothstein.
That is now in the past. Willard is tasked with getting the Wildcats back to the NCAA Tournament, just like three years ago, when Villanova made a Final Four appearance. He has a lot at his disposal to make that happen again.
First, Willard now has a larger Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) pool to work with. Harry Geller, the founder of Maryland basketball collective Turtle NIL told John Talty at CBS that Maryland spent around $3 million in NIL for its most recent roster that went to the Sweet 16.
With Maryland having a Big 10 football team, a lot of money from the athletics budget went to football instead of basketball.
Compare that to Villanova this year where graduate forward Eric Dixon made about $1.7 million in NIL money, as of February of 2025, according to On3 Sports.
That means Willard built a Sweet 16 roster using just two Dixon NIL salaries. That also means that at Villanova, Willard can bring in more talent, due to more NIL funding.
Villanova’s lone high school recruit Dante Allen decommitted after Neptune was dismissed, which means the program will have no freshman joining this offseason. The 2024-25 Villanova starting five are also all out of eligibility.
The transfer portal will be the only way to build a competitive roster. At Maryland, Willard and his staff did a great job at finding junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie in the transfer portal. Gillespie transferred from Belmont and averaged 14.7 points and 4.8 assists at Maryland this season.
Gillespie entered the transfer portal on March 31 and it is not out of the question he could follow Willard to the Main Line.
While Villanova has brought in talent such as senior guard Wooga Poplar and graduate guard Jhamir Brickus, a lot of the Villanova transfers could not translate their performances from previous schools or could not adapt to the Villanova gameplan.
As of Monday, March 31, there are eight scholarship spots on Villanova’s roster. Willard has to make Villanova a convincing landing spot for transfer players after three down seasons. Outside of NIL, Willard has a long record of success in college basketball, and a lot of it was in the Big East.
Willard spent 12 of his 18 years as a head coach at Seton Hall. His Seton Hall teams constantly gave Jay Wright’s Villanova squads good competition. Willard took the Pirates to five NCAA Tournament appearances.
Before Villanova won the NCAA Championship in the 2015-16 season, the Wildcats fell to the Pirates, 69-67, in the Big East Tournament Championship. Willard was only 40 years old at the time and had defeated one of the best coaches in college basketball history.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and shut down college basketball, Seton Hall had a 20-9 record. That team tied for the Big East regular season title.
He has the experience and proof that he can win against other elite schools. The Big East currently boasts the AP Coach of the Year, Rick Pitiino, and back-to-back national champion Dan Hurley. While Willard is not Wright he is a coach that can succeed in the conference that is the Big East. He was worth the wait.
