Buzz Williams leaving Texas A&M, expected to be named next head coach of Maryland men's basketball

Days after the vacancy became official, Maryland men’s basketball is inching closer toward finalizing its next hire with Buzz Williams expected to take over as the program’s next head coach. Taylor Lyons of the Baltimore Sun was the first to report.

Williams, 52, takes over the Maryland job after leaving Texas A&M where he led the Aggies to a 120-73 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons. Texas A&M also secured four consecutive seasons with 21 wins or more, while Williams finished 2-3 in the NCAA Tournament during his time with the program.

Talk of Buzz Williams-to-Maryland emerged immediately after Kevin Willard’s departure for Villanova became all but a certainty, only for ‘buzz’ around Buzz to reach new heights on Tuesday morning with all signs pointing toward the former Virginia Tech and Texas A&M head coach to take over in College Park.

The longtime head coach began his coaching career at New Orleans back in 2006-07 before moving to Marquette where he won 22 or more games in five of six seasons with the program, including an Elite Eight appearance. Williams then spent five seasons at Virginia Tech where he led the Hokies to a Sweet 16 appearance and a 100-69 finish over five seasons.

Williams will now take over a program in College Park that’s been decimated by the transfer portal following Kevin Willard’s departure. While Julian Reese and Selton Miguel both exhausted eligibility, Maryland saw Jay Young depart to play his seventh season elsewhere before Tafara Gapare, DeShawn Harris-Smith, Rodney Rice, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Braden Pierce all elected to enter the transfer portal. As of Tuesday afternoon, only Chance Stephens, Malachi Palmer and Jahari Long remain on the roster as Williams looks ahead to a complete rebuild.

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