BALTIMORE — Two days after being dumped by Kevin Willard for Villanova, Maryland men’s basketball has moved swiftly and named Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams its next coach.

The school announced Tuesday afternoon that Williams will be introduced Wednesday at Xfinity Center in College Park.

“It is an honor and privilege to be named the head coach of the University of Maryland men’s basketball team,” Williams, who owns a 373-228 (.621 winning percentage) overall record in 18 years as head coach, said in a written statement. “I want to thank President Pines and Colleen Sorem for this opportunity to lead one of the most prestigious programs in the country. In leading this program, I promise to uphold the history of Maryland basketball and make Terp Nation proud with the men who represent this institution.”

George Mason coach Tony Skinn, American University coach Duane Simpkins and Maryland assistant David Cox also interviewed for the opening, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The Baltimore Sun. The search was led by University of Maryland President Darryl J. Pines, interim athletic director Colleen Sorem and deputy athletic director/chief strategy officer Brian Ullmann, the source said.

Details of Williams’ contract are not immediately known.

The 52-year-old Williams has been head coach at New Orleans, Marquette and Virginia Tech but spent the past six years with the Aggies. Under his direction, the Southeastern Conference program went 120-73 overall and 56-44 in the league, with four consecutive seasons of 21 wins or more.

Williams recently guided Texas A&M to a 23-11 record and an 11-7 mark in the SEC and its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which had last been done from 2006 to 2011. As a No. 4 seed, the team beat No. 13 Yale, 80-71, in the first round before falling to No. 5 seed Michigan, 91-79, in the second round.

“We are thrilled to bring a coach of the caliber of Buzz Williams to the University of Maryland,” Sorem said in the statement. “His incredible record of success at three prominent basketball programs speaks for itself, but we were equally impressed with his tireless work ethic and his dedication to building a program the right way. He embraces the high expectations here at Maryland and we are all excited to get started on this new era in Maryland basketball.”

“Maryland Athletics is an important part of the University of Maryland community,” Pines said. “Finding the right person to lead Maryland Men’s Basketball was critical to the continued success of our program, both on and off the court. With an exemplary record of competitive success and a demonstrated commitment to providing leadership and development to our student-athletes, Coach Buzz Williams is the ideal coach to lead us forward. We could not be more thrilled to welcome him to College Park.”

Williams was named SEC Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2023. His formal name is Brent, and he earned the Buzz nickname for his energetic personality while working as a student assistant at Navarro College.

Before arriving at College Station to coach the Aggies, Williams spent five years at Virginia Tech. During that time, the Hokies went 100-69 overall and 44-46 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, enjoyed four consecutive seasons of at least 20 victories and earned three straight at-large berths to the NCAA Tournament, capping that run by advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2019.

Williams previously helmed Marquette for six years, amassing a 139-69 record and a 69-39 mark in the Big East, racking up 22 wins or more in its first five seasons and going to the NCAA Tournament in each of those years.

The Golden Eagles marched to the Sweet 16 in 2011 and 2012 and then advanced to Williams’ first Elite Eight in 2013 before losing to Syracuse. But the following season, the team slid to 17-15 overall and 9-9 in the conference and was left out of the NCAA postseason. Williams has not made it back to the Elite Eight and has only returned to the Sweet 16 once since 2013.

Williams figures to inherit a roster depleted by lack of eligibility, early entry into the NBA and the transfer portal. Senior power forward Julian Reese, a Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate, and graduate student small forward Selton Miguel are two starters who have exhausted their eligibility, and fifth-year senior small forward Jordan Geronimo and fifth-year point guard Jahari Long also appear to have no eligibility remaining.

Freshman center Derik Queen, the Baltimore wunderkind and Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is expected to enter the 2025 NBA draft, where he is projected by some publications as a lottery pick. And five players who were recruited through the transfer portal by Willard — junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, shooting guard Rodney Rice, junior power forward Tafara Gapare, sophomore guard DeShawn Harris-Smith and graduate student point guard Jayhlon Young — have entered the transfer portal and could elect to follow him to the Wildcats.

Williams reportedly earned $4.6 million annually at Texas A&M. That is more than the $4.08 million given to Willard last year, which made him the state’s second highest-paid employee affiliated with the University of Maryland or University System of Maryland. Only football coach Mike Locksley’s total earnings of $6 million exceeded Willard’s amount.

On Sunday, Willard was named coach at Villanova. In three seasons, he compiled a 65-39 overall record and a 32-28 mark in the Big Ten at Maryland.

Willard became the first coach in program history to guide the school to the NCAA Tournament in his debut, in which the team lost to Alabama, 73-51, in the second round in 2023, and the first to accumulate 20 victories in his first season. But a year later, the program stumbled to a 16-17 record and a 7-13 mark in the league and exited the Big Ten Tournament in the second round. The 17 losses matched those accrued by the 2021-22 squad helmed by Mark Turgeon and then Danny Manning that precipitated the pursuit of Willard from Seton Hall.

This past season, the 49-year-old Willard led the Terps to a 27-9 record, exceeding the most wins he had enjoyed in a single season in his career (25-9 in 2015-16). The 27 victories were the most by the school since 2014-15 when that squad went 28-7 and lost to West Virginia, 69-59, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Maryland also went 14-6 in the Big Ten, which was another career best for Willard.

The 14 conference wins were tied for the second-highest total in school history. The 2014-15 team went 14-4 in the Big Ten, and the 2019-20 squad enjoyed a 14-6 mark in the conference. All three teams trailed the standard set by the 2001-02 team that forged a 15-1 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference en route to claiming the program’s first — and only — national championship.

Willard’s departure wrapped up a tumultuous two-week span during which the university and coach began working on a contract extension on March 16. Willard announced the likely departure of athletic director Damon Evans to SMU while fighting for “fundamental changes” to the school’s name, image and likeness revenue-sharing plan on March 20. Last week, Willard told an area radio show that, “As of right now, I’m staying,” then sidestepped questions about his future. After Maryland’s loss to No. 1 seed Florida in the Sweet 16, Willard said that he “loved Maryland” but had “to take everything into consideration.”

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