Villanovas Jay Wright named Big East Co-Coach of the Year NBC Sports Philadelphia

March 2024 ยท 2 minute read

Coach Jay Wright got some well earned recognition just before Villanova tries to add a Big East Tournament title to its regular season crown.

Wright was named Big East Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, who earns the accolade for the first time. It is Wright's third straight Big East Coach of the Year award and fifth overall. Wright is also the only person in Big East history to win five Coach of the Year awards.

Villanova lost three starters going into the season, but the Wildcats didn't miss a beat. They went 27-4 overall and won 16 of 18 conference contests, beating out Xavier for a third straight regular season title. 

The Wildcats earned the first No. 1 overall ranking in program history. 'Nova stayed atop those rankings for two weeks until a loss at then-No. 5 Xavier knocked the Wildcats off. However, Villanova bounced back to win its final three games heading into tomorrow's Big East quarterfinal and the team is ranked No. 3 in the current AP poll. 

Wright wasn't the only Wildcat recognized for a strong conference performance this season. Junior guard Josh Hart was unanimously voted to the All-Big East First Team while the conference named senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono All-Big East Second Team. Senior forward Daniel Ochefu earned Big East Honorable Mention and Jalen Brunson made the Big East All-Freshman Team.

The Wildcats face the winner of Georgetown-DePaul on Thursday at noon to begin their Big East Tournament title defense.

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