Kevin Willard’s Wildcats have been ravaged by the transfer portal, but he’s slowly started filling the holes left behind.
That trend continued Monday when it was reported that 7-foot-1 Nico Onyekwere removed his name from the portal, choosing to return to the Main Line for the 2026-27 season:
This is good news for Willard and Co., who were suddenly without a true big after Duke Brennan entered the portal and Braden Pierce took his talents to the College of Charleston.
The Nigerian native didn’t see the floor in his freshman season after redshirting, but returns looking for a bigger role. And depending on how the rest of the offseason plays out, there’s a path there for the taking. He’s a raw prospect, which explains the redshirt year, but Willard has been on record saying, “Nico is a space-eater, an old-school style center with the kind of tools needed to compete inside in the Big East.” Now it’s on him to show it.
Onyekwere is a former three-star recruit out of Long Island Lutheran with all four years of eligibility remaining.
Don’t expect Villanova to stop at center just because Onyekwere is back, but at this point, anything helps.