A leading Big East power is in the market for a new head basketball coach.
The Villanova Wildcats announced Saturday that the school has fired coach Kyle Neptune after three seasons. In a statement, the university said it would conduct a national search for a new head coach, and that assistant Mike Nardi will serve as interim coach until a new hire can be made.
Neptune was ultimately unable to keep the momentum going for a program that had established itself as one of the best of the last decade. The Wildcats won national titles in 2016 and 2018 under longtime coach Jay Wright, and reached another Final Four in 2022. Wright abruptly retired at that point, with Neptune, his longtime assistant, being picked out as his replacement.
Ultimately, Neptune never even made the NCAA Tournament with the team in three seasons, going 54-46 and 31-29 in Big East play. The Wildcats went 19-14 this season, the best record in any of Neptune’s three seasons, but were plagued by inconsistency and lost games to the likes of Columbia at home. It briefly appeared that they had a chance of playing in the NCAA Tournament this season, but those hopes were dashed when they lost their regular season finale to Georgetown and fell to UConn by 17 in their Big East Tournament opener.
Notably, Villanova hired a new athletic director in Eric Roedl last November. That change of leadership did not help Neptune either.
Villanova expects to be among the country’s leading college basketball programs. They might swing big as they look to re-establish themselves among the nation’s elite.
