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Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
Villanova Basketball Head Coach Candidates: Who Will The Wildcats Hire For Next Season?
- Kyle Neptune is out at Villanova.
- Can the school fill Jay Wright's shoes?
- Mick Cronin and Porter Moser are in the mix.
It's hard to replace a legend, as Kyle Neptune found out at Villanova in trying to replicate the program's success under Jay Wright.
Who will replace Neptune on the Wildcats sideline next season? PennStakes - home to all PA sportsbooks news - has exclusive odds.
Villanova Basketball Head Coach Odds
Coach | Current Position | Percentage Chance | Odds |
Porter Moser | Oklahoma Head Coach | 23.6% | +325 |
Kevin Willard | Maryland Head Coach | 18.2% | +450 |
Chris Collins | Northwestern Head Coach | 15.4% | +550 |
Mick Cronin | UCLA Head Coach | 11.1% | +800 |
Mark Byington | Vanderbilt Head Coach | 7.7% | +1200 |
Bob Huggins | Former WVU Head Coach | 7.7% | +1200 |
The Field |
| 14.3% | +600 |
Odds provided by PennStakes and not available on PA betting apps.
Moser, Willard Are Early Villanova Favorites
After a three-year run that saw him fail to reach the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament once, Neptune’s reign at Villanova was clipped, opening the door to one of the sport’s few powerhouse programs. That commitment to basketball excellence, with two national championships this century and four Final Four trips under former head coach Jay Wright should entice power conference coaches like Porter Moser of Oklahoma, Kevin Willard of Maryland or Chris Collins of Northwestern, who are our three leading candidates to lead the Wildcats right now.
Moser leads the way at +325 after leading the Sooners to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021, while Willard (+450), Collins (+550) and UCLA head coach Mick Cronin (+800) are the other leading candidates to keep an eye on at Villanova.
Willard is the only one of the bunch still playing, as the Terrapins prepare for the program’s first Sweet 16 contest since 2016, when Maryland plays top seed Florida on Thursday evening.
Cronin has led the Bruins to a 138-64 (.683) record since arriving in Westwood in 2019 after winning 296 games and making the Big Dance nine years in a row at Cincinnati, while Collins led Northwestern to the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament berth back in 2017 before making additional trips to the event in 2023 and 2024.
Other names to keep an eye on when it comes to the opening at Villanova include Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington and former West Virginia (and Cincinnati) head coach Bob Huggins, who are co-listed at +1200 to replace Neptune in Philly.
Byington is an up-and-coming head coaching candidate, having led Georgia Southern, JMU and Vanderbilt to new heights between 2013 and 2025, with 233 victories across 379 games and two trips to the Big Dance (one at JMU and this year’s trip at Vanderbilt).
Huggins, on the other hand, is one of the most accomplished coaches in modern men’s basketball, with 863 victories across four programs (Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia) and two Final Four trips in 1,252 games as a head coach. While the man affectionately known as “Huggy Bear” left West Virginia in a heap of controversy, there’s no denying that the veteran can win games in bunches, having led each of the aforementioned schools to the NCAA Tournament, potentially earning himself a shot at a fifth and final head coaching job in 2025.
Stay close to PennStakes.com for innovative sports betting coverage of college and pro teams in the state as well as for PA sportsbook promos.
USA Today photo by Trevor Ruszkowski.
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Villanova Next Head Coach Odds FAQs
Currently Porter Moser, the current head coach at Oklahoma, has the best odds (+325) to become the new Villanova MBB Head Coach. Chris Collins (Northwestern) and Kevin Willard (Mayland) are also in the mix to be the next MBB head coach at Villanova.
No, Jay Wright no longer coaches basketball at Villanova. Wright retired in April 2022 with a 520-197 (.725%) record as Villanova's head coach, winning the NCAA Mens College Basketball Championship twice in 2016 and 2018.
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