Willard has been connected to the Villanova coaching search for weeks so this doesn't come as much of a surprise. The 49-year-old just finished his best season at Maryland, in which the Terrapins went 27-9 and reached the Sweet 16 in the 2025 NCAA tournament. That followed his first two seasons, which would generously be deemed up and down.

Willard left Maryland with a 65-39 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances. He is fresh off his best season with the program, in which he constructed a talented roster dubbed the "Crab Five" and earned a second-place finish in the Big Ten and a trip to the Sweet 16.