Maggie Fitzgerald

Time to get to know the new face of Villanova basketball.

There’s an excited buzz around campus, all centering around one name: Kevin Willard. But how much do we really know about Kyle Neptune’s promising successor? Look no further than this top 10 list of fun facts, your one-stop guide to everything you need to know about new basketball head Coach Kevin Willard.

1. Willard was born and raised in Huntington, N.Y. on Long Island, but went to high school in Kentucky.
2. He spent his freshman year of college at Western Kentucky and then transferred to and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh.
3. He played point guard at both schools coached by his father, Ralph. 
4. He started his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics with Rick Pitino. After four years, he followed Pitino to the University of Louisville. 
5. His first head coaching job was at Iona, transitioning to Seton Hall three years later and the University of Maryland 12 years after that.
6. During Willard’s 12 years at Seton Hall, he faced Jay Wright and Villanova 25 times. He and Wright are good friends, and Willard spoke to Wright on the phone before accepting the Head Coach position.
7. He is well recognized for his coaching: he won the Big East Coach of the Year with Seton Hall in the 2015-2016 season and in 2017, he was one of Forbes Top 10 NCAA Basketball Coaches for the Next 10 Years.
8. He has made the NCAA tournament seven times.
9. Willard and his wife Julie have two sons, Colin, who is 18, and Chase, who is 16.
10. He is the tenth Men’s Basketball Head Coach in Villanova history.