Jeff Bolzero
Jeff Bolzero
ESPN Staff Writer
Basketball insider. I joined ESPN in 2014. Graduated from the University of Delaware.
Villanova fired men’s basketball coach Kyle Neptune after three seasons, the school announced Saturday.
Assistant coach Mike Nardi will serve as interim head coach while the school searches for a successor to Neptune.
Villanova athletic director Eric Roedl thanked Neptune for his “unconventional work ethic and dedication” in a statement announcing his firing.
“We are grateful for the long service to Villanova and for his guidance to many excellent young men he coached,” added Rhodell.
Neptune, who replaced Jay Wright following his Hall of Fame retirement in 2022, will end his tenure without the arrival of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats temporarily played towards the bubble towards the end of the regular season, but a road loss to Georgetown in the season finale and a 17-point loss to UConn in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals ended NCAA Tournament hopes.
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Neptune was given the enviable task of filling the coach’s shoes that led Villanova to two national championships and four final fours, but he struggled to create sustained momentum almost immediately. The Wildcats began 2-5 in his first season, a trend that was the theme in his time at the mainline with a loss that raised eyebrows to Temple and Portland.
They finished 17-17 in their first year and lost to Philadelphia Big 5 rivals Penn, St. Joseph and Drexel in the first month of the 2023-24 campaign. Villanova spiked in February, but struggled to finish the campaign despite being ranked in the top 25 of the preseason, finishing 18-16.
With Neptune entering a pivotal season in 2024-25, Villanova lost 10 to Colombia in the second match of the campaign, opening with four losses in the first seven games. For January’s 1-5 stretch, I dropped the Wildcats to 12-10 overall.
Villanova went 54-47 during the helm of Neptune’s three seasons.
Under the Wright, Villanova played NCAA tournaments in 16 of his last 17 seasons, winning at least one tournament game in each of his final eight postseasons. It was from 2002 to 2004, Wright’s first three seasons rep for the NCAA tournament that the Wildcats missed out on the NCAA tournament in three consecutive seasons.
Before replacing Wright, Neptune was Fordham’s head coach for a season. He was an assistant coach under Villanova’s Wright from 2013 to 2021 and was the Wildcats video coordinator from 2008 to 2010.
