The University of Maryland has tabbed Seton Hall's Kevin Willard as its next men's basketball head coach.
The 46-year-old was named the new Terps head coach on Monday morning, concluding an exhaustive coaching search that began in earnest in December, when Maryland and longtime head coach Mark Turgeon (226-116) mutually agreed to part ways after 11 seasons. That search at one point included heavy pursuit of Rick Pitino, who chose to remain at Iona while wishing Maryland well in finding "the next great Gary Williams."
Coincidentally, Iona is where Willard began his college coaching career, leading the Gaels to a 45-49 (.479) record from 2007-08 to 2009-10. In the 12 years since, he's guided the Seton Hall Pirates to a 225-161 (.583) record including five NCAA Tournament appearances (six, had the 2020 tournament not been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic). Willard became the second-winningest coach in program history in Dec. 2021, passing P.J. Carlesimo with his 213th victory. He is the only head coach in program history to lead Seton Hall to four consecutive 20-win seasons, a streak he extended to five seasons in 2019-20.
"We are thrilled to welcome Kevin to the Terrapin family," said Maryland athletic director Damon Evans. "We are excited about the future of Maryland basketball with Kevin leading the way. Known for his gritty, hard-working teams, Kevin has had tremendous success, winning conference championships and leading his teams to NCAA Tournaments. He has made a habit of scheduling challenging opponents and winning in those games as evidenced by his record against Big Ten teams in recent years. He has familiarity with the region, being a native New Yorker and having spent much of his life in the Northeast corridor. We welcome Kevin, his wife Julie, and their sons Colin and Chase to the Maryland family and we look forward to the next great chapter in Terrapin basketball history."
Willard's most recent tournament bid was halted in the opening round last Friday, with eighth-seeded Seton Hall (21-11) losing to ninth-seeded TCU (21-12), 69-42. Seton Hall's 2021-20 season included an 11-8 mark in Big East play and signature victories over No. 4 Michigan and No. 7 Texas.
Willard is one of only 10 active coaches in the Power 6 conferences to have won a regular-season conference championship (2020), a conference tournament championship (2016) and to have earned conference coach of the year (2016) in the past six seasons. His teams have posted .500 or better records in the last nine consecutive seasons.
"Growing up and coaching in the region, I have always admired Maryland basketball. Being named head coach of one of the nation's premier basketball programs is a tremendous honor," said Willard. "Thank you to President [Darryll] Pines and Damon Evans for trusting me to energize this proud program as we look to galvanize our passionate fanbase with a gritty, hard-working style of basketball. Having coached against Maryland several times and at XFINITY Center, I know how Terp fans feel about this team."
"I embrace the high expectations," he said. "Skill development and a dedication to academic success will be cornerstones of our program and I can promise Terp Nation we will work to make them proud of this basketball team as we build winners on the court and in the classroom. Julie and our boys are excited to join the Terrapin family."
Willard began his coaching career as an assistant under Pitino with the Boston Celtics (1997-2001) and at Louisville (2001-07). He is a Long Island, NY native but played high school basketball at Bowling Green High School (KY) while his father was the head coach at Western Kentucky. He would go on to play point guard at Western Kentucky as a freshman before transferring to Pittsburgh.
The Terps went 10-14 (.417) under interim head coach Danny Manning this season.
