It’s the end of an era on the Main Line: 

VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova University announced today that it is making a leadership change in its Men’s Basketball program effective immediately. Kyle Neptune will no longer serve as the William B. Finneran Endowed Head Coach after three seasons at the helm.

A national search for the next leader of Villanova Men’s Basketball will begin immediately. Assistant Coach Mike Nardi will serve as Interim Head Coach.

“Since coming to Villanova, I have been struck by Kyle’s tireless work ethic and his dedication to the student-athletes he served,” said Villanova Vice President and Director of Athletics Eric Roedl. “We are grateful to Kyle for his long service to Villanova and his mentorship to the many outstanding young men he has coached.”

Neptune, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., first came to Villanova in 2008, serving two seasons as Video Coordinator. He returned as an assistant coach in 2013 before departing in 2021 to become head coach at Fordham University. In April 2022 he was named to replace Jay Wright as Head Coach.

In three seasons, Neptune posted a 54-47 record (.535), including a 19-14 mark in 2024-25 (.576) that included victories over Top 25 opponents Connecticut, St. John’s and Marquette.

Yeah listen, it had to happen. We all know it. This is no surprise. Neptune inherited a Final Four team and didn’t win a postseason game in three seasons. He didn’t even get into the NCAA Tournament. Along the way, he had guys like Justin Moore, Caleb Daniels, Wooga Poplar, and Eric Dixon, the nation’s leading scorer. He had a veteran starting lineup and somehow found a way to underachieve and disappoint. Nova showed flashes along the way, but never seemed to be able to finish a game or string together results in any sort of way that showed they were a top tier college basketball team.

The good thing is that the Nova luster hasn’t worn off, I don’t think. Three years does not unmake the incredible run the Cats went on from Jay Wright’s fourth season to his last. This is still a blue blood program that will attract the best coaches in the country, and if they get it right, they’re a Big East competitor once again. Go Cats go. I’ll be the Nova guy at Crossing Broad since it sure ain’t gonna be Temple University’s Kyle Pagan.

FWIW Dylan at The Villanovan had it first: