Jay Wright

Head Coach Men’s Basketball

Jay Wright has crafted a new chapter of basketball success for a storied program that has compiled a long list of accolades. Since taking the reins in 2001, Wright has steered the Wildcats to five Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights, the 2009 and 2016 Final Four. His crowning achievement has been capturing the 2016 NCAA Championship. The triumph, Villanova’s 35th of the season, lifted the Wildcats to the school’s second NCAA championship. The night of April 4, 2016 capped a remarkable run that saw Villanova upend a pair of No. 1 NCAA Tournament seeds in North Carolina and Kansas, along with a No. 2 seed Oklahoma and a No. 3 seed. The Wildcats’ 95-51 victory over the Sooners in the national semifinal represented the largest margin of victory in an NCAA Final Four contest. Wright was honored as BIG EAST Coach of the Year four times (2006, 2009, 2014, 2015) and was honored as national coach of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Naismith and CBS/Chevrolet. Along the way, the Wildcats have maintained their impressive academic track record of graduating every student-athlete who has spent four years in the program.