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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Michael Kadlick

Kevin Willard Made Honest Admission About Villanova Rumors After Maryland's Loss

Terrapins head coach Kevin Willard watches on as his Maryland Terrapins take on the Florida Gators. | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The Maryland Terrapins' 2025 NCAA tournament run came to a disappointing end on Thursday night at the hands of the Florida Gators. After keeping it close in the first half—down just two at the break—things quickly got away from the "Crab Five" over the final 20 minutes, resulting in an 87-71 defeat.

Now? Instead of Maryland simply turning the page and moving onto next season, all eyes are on head coach Kevin Willard. After recent comments where he openly criticized the Terps' athletic department regarding NIL and revenue sharing, the 49-year-old has been connected to the open Villanova Wildcats head-coaching job in Philadelphia.

He dodged the rumors when asked earlier this week, but gave a more honest answer following the team's Sweet 16 loss:

"I don't know what I'm doing," said Willard at the podium when asked about his future. "I haven't talked to my agent, I haven't talked to my wife. I made a promise to this team that I would focus on this team, and that's all I've done. I haven't talked to anybody. I have an agent, I'm sure he's talking to people because that's what agents like to do. But I don't know."

Honesty is the best policy, I suppose.

After a 12-year head coaching career at Seton Hall, Willard was hired by Maryland in 2022. Over three seasons at the helm, he put together a 65-39 record while bringing the Terrapins to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016.

We'll see if he ultimately ends up at Villanova, or if he'll remain in College Park.


More March Madness on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Willard Made Honest Admission About Villanova Rumors After Maryland's Loss.

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