**UPDATE 4/3/19**
Buzz Williams to Texas A&M is now official. Story here.
By ADAM ZAGORIA
WASHINGTON — Buzz Williams will be the next head coach at Texas A&M after his Virginia Tech team lost here in the Sweet 16 to Duke on Friday night, multiple sources said.
“That’s done,” one source said before Duke edged out Virginia Tech, 75-73, to advance to the Elite Eight.
Williams, 46, is a Greenville, Texas native and former A&M assistant under Billy Gillispie from 2004-06.
“He’s a Texas guy, he will make a gazillion dollars there and, of course, the state is loaded with players,” a second source said.
That’s likely it for Buzz Williams at Va Tech. All signs point to him taking the Texas A&M job. pic.twitter.com/Rspl3sBdoA
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 30, 2019
Williams did not directly address his immedate future after the game but was asked how he would remember his five-year tenure and this season in Blacksburg.
“I learned so many lessons, incredibly grateful,” he said. “Just listening to these guys, I don’t know that I would say anything different. Obviously I think in many respects I’ve learned more from them than maybe they’ve learned from me.
“It’s been a lot of fun. Lifelong relationships not only with the players but with our managers and student trainers. I think I’ve become a better parent because of my relationship with these parents and seeing their life story and then obviously being around their children every day. Thankful for how it’s all transpired.”
Williams has a career record of 253-155 (.620) at Marquette and Virginia Tech. He took Marquette to five straight NCAA Tournaments, including an Elite Eight, and Virginia Tech to three in a row.
Williams reportedly makes $3 million annually at Virginia Tech. According to the Houston Chronicle, former Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy’s contract runs through 2021 and pays him nearly $2.5 million annually.
A report from Yahoo has LSU interim head coach Tony Benford, a former Williams assistant at Marquette, joining Williams at Texas A&M.
Asked about his own future after LSU lost here to Michigan State, Benford said, “I really don’t know. We just played a game against a really good basketball team. I’m not even thinking about it, to be honest with you.
Texas A&M finished 11th in the Southeastern Conference with a 6-12 record and beat Vanderbilt in the opening round of the conference tournament before being eliminated by Mississippi State.
The Aggies reached the NCAA tournament in just two seasons under Kennedy, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2016 and last season. His best regular season came in 2015-16 when the Aggies went 28-9, one of three seasons where he won more than 20 games at Texas A&M.
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