One day after his team was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament, Maryland’s Kevin Willard found his name linked to a major job.
Willard was one of several coaches being mentioned for the opening at Villanova. The Wildcats fired Kyle Neptune this weekend after three straight seasons without an NCAA Tournament appearance. VCU’s Ryan Odom, Northwestern’s Chris Collins and Princeton’s Mitch Henderson have also been discussed by college basketball insiders.
Despite the rumors, it looks like Willard is staying put. CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported this afternoon that the 49-year-old is negotiating a contract extension with Maryland.
“Sources: Maryland is working on a new contract for Kevin Willard that will make him one of the Top 10 highest paid coaches in college basketball,” Rothstein tweeted. “The deal will include one of the highest revenue share budgets in the country along with a new $50 million dollar practice facility.”
In his third season at Maryland, Willard has the Terrapins at 25-8 heading into the NCAA Tournament, where they are projected to be a No. 4 seed by most bracketologists. They saw their Big Ten tourney stay end Saturday with a heartbreaking 81-80 loss to Michigan.
Maryland went 16-17 under Willard last season after a 22-13 mark, which included a first-round NCAA Tournament win in his debut campaign in 2022-23.
Prior to being hired at Maryland, Willard spent 12 seasons at Seton Hall, posting an overall record of 225-161 with five NCAA Tournament appearances and one trip to the NIT. He was also 45-49 as head coach in three seasons at Iona from 2007-10.
As they reportedly lock up their head coach long-term, Maryland is also waiting to see where it will head for the NCAA Tournament this week.
The 2025 NCAA Tournament Selection Show will get underway at 6 p.m. ET tonight on CBS.
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