Buzz Williams is heading to College Park.
On Tuesday, Maryland announced it hired Williams, the former Texas A&M coach, as the school’s men’s basketball coach.
Williams, who spent the past six seasons in the SEC with A&M, replaces Kevin Willard at Maryland after Willard took the vacant coaching job at Villanova on Sunday. Texas A&M is owed a $1 million buyout with Williams’s departure, according to his contact obtained by the USA TODAY Sports, as long as Texas A&M exercised options to extend his contract last year and this year.
‘It is an honor and privilege to be named the head coach of the University of Maryland men’s basketball team,’ Williams said in a statement.
‘I want to thank President (Darryll) Pines and (interim Maryland athletic director) 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.’
Tuesday’s announcement comes roughly a week after Williams was first was linked to the Maryland job if Willard decided to leave and take another position. Prior to his six years at Texas A&M, where he led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament each of the past three seasons, Williams was coach of Virginia Tech from 2014-1019. He got his first head-coaching job in 2006 at New Orleans before being hired in 2008 by Marquette, where he was head coach for six seasons and elevated the Golden Eagles back to national prominence.
Maryland and Marquette are set to face each other in the back end of a home-and-home series this upcoming season, a non-conference matchup that will mark Williams’ first return to Milwaukee since leaving for the Virginia Tech job in 2014.
Williams holds an overall record of 373-228 in his 18 seasons as a head coach. He has won at least 100 games at each of his past three stops – Marquette, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M.
Maryland finished 27-9 overall this past season under Willard and it went to the Sweet 16 of the West Region, where it fell to No. 1 seed Florida.
Williams will now look to rebuild Maryland’s roster to compete once again in the Big Ten, as the Terrapins have already lost Rodney Rice, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Braden Pierce to the transfer portal, and star freshman Derik Queen is expected to declare for the NBA draft.
(This story will be updated.)
