Villanova

Kevin Willard Admits Villanova Has So Many Upperclassmen Transfers That He’s Not Even Recruiting High School Players Anymore

By Matt Schultz

Published: Oct 1st, 2026 · 4:28 PM EDT

---

The gap between the haves and the have-nots in college basketball keeps on getting bigger, and Kevin Willard just underlined the ever-growing divide: the Villanova head coach admitted he’s not even recruiting players out of high school this year because he has so many talented upperclassmen returning for a fifth year — most of whom came to Villanova via the transfer portal from smaller schools:

Kevin Willard admits he isn't recruiting any high school players this year 👀

"We're not recruiting a high school kid this year… just because of the fifth-year rule. We have six guys that can come back for a fifth year. So, I'd much rather have one of my players come back,… pic.twitter.com/uY7FmBJTXU

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) October 1, 2026

“We’re not recruiting a high school kid this year. So that’s probably a big change. Just because of the fifth-year rule. I mean, we have six guys that can come back for a fifth year. So, you know, I’d much rather have one of my players come back than to bring a high school kid.”

The fifth-year rule Willard is referring to is the NCAA’s 5-in-5 eligibility model that begins this season. Under the new system, players are given five years of eligibility over five seasons once their college eligibility clock begins, which is either right when the player enrolls in college full-time or at the beginning of the academic year after their 19th birthday — whichever happens first. 

The rule was designed to put an end to all these 27-year-old college players that we’ve been seeing more and more of post-COVID, but whether they realized it or not, the NCAA just threw the competitive balance of college basketball way out of whack. From where I’m sitting, the 5-in-5 rule is going to result in major conference programs relying entirely on upperclassman transfers to build their rosters — then, when one class of seasoned veteran transfers loses eligibility, they’ll just do it again, then again the year after, and on and on it’ll go, forever. Every huge program’s team is going to be a bunch of 22- and 23-year-olds who are already good because they spent years developing at schools in mid-majors or one-bid leagues. 

Meanwhile, power conference programs simply aren’t going to recruit high school players anymore. Why would they waste their time/scholarships on 18-year-olds? Instead, they’re just going to let the smaller programs do the recruiting, then swoop in and take whoever they want once the kids are actually good. 

In short, the 5-in-5 model is going to turn smaller programs into a minor league farm system for the power conferences to siphon talent from – and Kevin Willard just admitted it. 

Not good! 

It’s not just in basketball, either. Curt Cignetti just ran with this exact blueprint at Indiana and won National Championship doing it. Of the Hoosiers 22 starters last year, 14 of them were transfers. Indiana went 16-0 with a roster full of grown-ass men who’d been developed for years at smaller programs.

In conclusion, the NCAA is a mess and it’s only getting worse. As far as Willard’s quote/outlook goes, add it to the long list of reasons why Villanova basketball is clown stuff. They’re bad for the Big 5 and they’re bad for college basketball. Saint Joe’s would never do this… Too much honor/integrity…