Kyle Neptune is out at Villanova after three turbulent seasons, and a highly coveted gig is now up for grabs. Villanova is expected to be well-situated in the arms race that is college basketball. With the revenue-sharing era looming, Villanova conveniently does not have a FBS football program with which to share the sugar.
That makes this job look different than the rest of the current batch of high-major openings that includes Iowa, Minnesota, NC State, Indiana and Virginia
Let’s dive into six top names who should be at the top of the list for Villanova’s brass.
Villanova coaching candidates
Collins has done a remarkable job dragging Northwestern out of the Big Ten cellar and into a new zip code of competence. Collins snapped Northwestern’s NCAA Tournament drought in 2017, and he’s led the Wildcats to three Big Dance bids, which felt inconceivable after Northwestern was the last high-major team to hear its name called on Selection Sunday.
Northwestern has been playing basketball since 1904, and it has won 20 games in back-to-back seasons just three times. Two of those have come under Collins’ watch. Northwestern has mostly used defense to stay afloat in the Big Ten despite not having the stocked NIL budgets of its league rivals. Collins has built top-40 defenses six times in his 12-year tenure, and he’s both recruited and developed terrific All-Big Ten hoopers like Boo Buie, Brooks Barnhizer, Nick Martinelli (who had no other high-major offers) and countless more.
Ryan Odom, VCU
Winning just seems to follow Ryan Odom around. He led UMBC to a historic upset over No. 1 seed Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. He steered Utah State to the Big Dance in 2023. He has VCU on the verge of another appearance in the field of 68 this year.
Most importantly, Odom has done it in a variety of ways. Odom constructed a top-20 offense at Utah State, but the nation’s best halfcourt defense fueled VCU to an A-10 crown.
The longtime Loyola-Chicago coach gained fame for leading the Ramblers to the Final Four in 2018 and the Sweet 16 in 2016. Oklahoma does not have one of the top NIL coffers in the SEC, but the Sooners are in good shape to make the NCAA Tournament. Reclassified guards have a long history of struggling in their first season of college basketball, but Moser has helped Jeremiah Fears develop into a potential lottery pick.
College basketball coaching changes: Kyle Neptune out at Nova, Fran McCaffery done at Iowa
Matt Norlander
Pitino has turned New Mexico into one of the top programs in the Mountain West. His evaluations lately have been unbelievable. JT Toppin turned into the Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2024. Donovan Dent turned into the Mountain West Player of the Year in 2025. Pitino is on the verge of taking New Mexico to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in a decade. His teams play vicious defense and have major bite.
Pitino has become a highly coveted name in the coaching carousel. Virginia has shown a ton of interest and could be the top challenger if Villanova’s brass hones in on him.
Ben McCollum, Drake
McCollum is one of the hottest names on the carousel. Iowa is interested. Minnesota is interested. Indiana is interested. And for good reason. McCollum won four Division II championships at Northwest Missouri State, and he’s immediately turned Drake into the best team in the Missouri Valley Conference.
McCollum has been dubbed “your favorite coach’s favorite coach” because numerous high-major head men were seeking his advice on offensive tactics when he was at the Division II ranks.
Henderson is one of the best offensive masterminds in the country. Princeton has routinely been one of the best isolation-led offenses in the country year after year. Xaivian Lee has turned into a legitimate NBA Draft prospect at Princeton.
Oh, and Henderson has the deep NCAA Tournament run on his resume, too. He led Princeton to the Sweet 16 in 2023.
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