Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Maryland hires Kevin Willard as new MBB coach

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By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The Maryland Terrapins have hired Kevin Willard as their new men’s basketball coach. He comes to Maryland after coaching the Seton Hall Pirates.

The 46-year-old has been a head coach since 2007-08. Besides coaching the Pirates, he also was the Iona Gaels head coach.

Former Seton Hall Pirates head coach Kevin Willard holds the 2016 Big East Men’s Basketball Trophy after his team won the Conference Tournament Championship
Kevin Willard holds the 2016 Big East Men’s Basketball Trophy after his team won the Conference Tournament Championship (Photo by Maryland Basketball)

He is 270-210 as a head coach. However, in the postseason, he has struggled, as he is 1-5 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (March Madness Tournament), and the 1-1 in the National Invite Tournament (NIT). Maryland would like for him to improve the postseason numbers.

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“We are thrilled to welcome Kevin to the Terrapin family,” Director of Athletics Damon Evans said in a statement. “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 a 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.”

Former head coach Mark Turgeon stepped down on December 3rd, 2021. He was then replaced on an interim basis by Danny Manning.

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Willard is taking over a program that went 15-17 in 2021-22. The Terrapins were 7-13 in Big Ten play.

“Growing up and coaching in the region, I have always admired Maryland basketball,” Willard said. “Being named head coach of one of the nation’s premier basketball programs is a tremendous honor. 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.

“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.”

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Anthony Caruso III
Anthony Caruso IIIhttps://thecapitalsportsreport.com
Anthony Caruso III is the Publisher of The Capital Sports Report. He has been in the Journalism field since August 2002. Since that time, Mr. Caruso has covered many marquee events. This includes 13 Heisman Trophy ceremonies, 2 Little World Series events, and one Army-Navy College Football game.
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