Kevin Willard Secures Major Recruiting Victories in His First Moves at Villanova

Kevin Willard was with Maryland for the past three years, however, after Kyle Neptune’s dismissal, an outstanding coaching position became available at Villanova.

After Maryland's run to the Sweet 16 — where the Terps ultimately lost to Florida — it did not take long for Willard to jump on that opportunity at Villanova.

He was hired on March 30, and now he's quickly working on building his team for next year.

It’s common for a new coach to bring along players and assistants from their former team to ease their transition into a new role, and that’s precisely what Willard did this past weekend.

The first move wasn't huge, but it brought a familiar face over to Villanova from Maryland as Malachi Palmer is transferring Palmer was a first-year student at Maryland during the previous season and did not see extensive playtime. He participated in 22 matches, scoring an average of only 1.6 points and grabbing 1.4 rebounds per contest over 8.4 minutes of playing time.

The second move Willard secured was much more significant, and it goes down as a major recruiting win early in his tenure with the Wildcats.

Chris Jeffery, one of the better combo-guard recruits in the 2025 class, was committed to Maryland under Willard. N ow, he has changed his commitment to Villanova.

This represents a significant victory for Willard, who aims to revitalize a Villanova team that has missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the past three years.

Jeffrey, listed at 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds, holds a ranking of the No. 13 combo guard In the 2025 rankings, per 247Sports, he hails from Lanham, Maryland, and holds this position. He is also considered the No. 3 athlete from the region .

Securing his transfer from Maryland is a significant step for Villanova since Jeffrey had the option to stay with the Terps and compete under Buzz Williams, who is undoubtedly an excellent coach.

This clearly demonstrates the significance of relationships during the recruitment process since Villanova greatly profited from Willard’s connection with Jeffrey.

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