On April 10, Rodney Rice narrowed his next destination to six men’s basketball schools, including Maryland.
On Tuesday, Rice made his decision. The 6-foot-4, 198-pound shooting guard announced via social media that he will stay in the Big Ten and transfer to Southern California.
Rice had listed the Trojans, Terps, Villanova, Tennessee, Auburn and Gonzaga as suitors. Maryland fans hoped Rice, who grew up in Clinton in Prince George’s County and graduated from DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, would rejoin the program he played for this past winter.
Villanova faithful envisioned him following coach Kevin Willard, who left the Terps on March 30. After all, Willard recruited Rice from Virginia Tech when he entered the transfer portal after the 2023-24 season.
Rice, who recently completed his sophomore year, will have at least two years of eligibility.
Rice enjoyed the most successful season of his career this past season. He ranked second on Maryland in total 3-pointers (80) and assists (74) and third in scoring (13.8 points per game).
Rice converted 43.4% of his shots (167 of 385) and was a member of the “Crab Five” that contributed to a 27-9 overall record and a 14-6 mark in the Big Ten and the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 since 2016.
Rice endeared himself to Terps fans early when he came off the bench and erupted for what remains a career-high 28 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 86-52 pounding of Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 8. Three games later, he was inserted into the starting lineup for good.
Rice scored 23 points — including the game-winning 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds to go — in a 79-78 win at Indiana on Jan. 26. That performance launched a run of eight consecutive starts of double-digit points.
Despite scoring only five points at Penn State on March 1, Rice’s short baseline jumper with 17 seconds left cemented a 68-64 victory. And he sank 7 of 9 3-pointers en route to 26 points in an 88-65 thrashing of Illinois on March 14 in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal.
Rice was part of a mass exodus of players who entered the transfer portal after Willard left for the Wildcats, and none of this past season’s players are still on the roster. Since the university hired Buzz Williams away from Texas A&M on April 1, four Aggies players — junior power forward Pharrel Payne, junior small forward Solomon Washington, freshman shooting guard Andre Mills and redshirt freshman small forward George Turkson Jr. — have followed him to the Terps.
Williams also brought in Indiana sophomore shooting guard Myles Rice, Kansas senior point guard David Coit, Washington State guard Isaiah Watts and Virginia junior forward Elijah Saunders.
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