Here’s a look at the two new head coaches entering the Big East for the 2025-26 season.
Villanova Wildcats
In: Kevin Willard
Out: Kyle Neptune
Kevin Willard gets the opportunity to revive a Villanova program that has struggled since Jay Wright’s retirement. This is Willard’s fourth head coaching job. The past three seasons he led Maryland in the Big Ten, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice and advancing to the Sweet 16 last season. Before Maryland, Willard spent three years at Iona and then over a decade at Seton Hall, making him no stranger to Big East basketball or to building successful programs.
Kyle Neptune never found his footing with the Wildcats, finishing 54-47 over three seasons without an NCAA Tournament appearance. He was dismissed in March and has since joined the Charlotte Hornets as an assistant coach.
Xavier Musketeers
In: Richard Pitino
Out: Sean Miller
Richard Pitino, 43, takes over at Xavier, continuing a career that began in 2012 at Florida International. From there he moved to Minnesota, where he went 141-123 overall but managed only 54 Big Ten wins. For the past four seasons, he coached New Mexico, guiding the Lobos to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the round of 32 last year.
This marks the second time Sean Miller has left Xavier for another high-profile job. After leading the Musketeers to the Sweet 16 in 2009, he took over at Arizona, where he won 302 games before leaving in 2021. He returned to Xavier in 2022, posting 185 wins and two NCAA Tournament berths in three seasons. Miller is now the head coach at Texas.
Two experienced coaches step into proven programs with high expectations. The Big East promises to be competitive once again, and both Villanova and Xavier are betting that these hires will help them stay near the top of the league. With Willard and Pitino in charge, the 2025-26 season is set to be another challenging but exciting campaign.