Rice was the Terps’ first starter to enter the portal.
Maryland men’s basketball suffered its third loss to the transfer portal when sophomore Rodney Rice entered his name Monday. The news was first reported by 24/7 High School Hoops.
A member of ‘The Crab Five’, the 6-foot-4 junior guard averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 36 appearances and 32 starts this season. He also shot 43.4% from the field and 37.4% from three.
Rice was fairly consistent for the Terps this season, averaging 12.3 points per game in the NCAA Tournament and scoring at least 20 points six times.
Brought in by former head coach Kevin Willard, Rice was a relatively unknown commodity transferring from Virginia Tech, as he only played in eight games in 2022-23 and missed all of last season due to injury. Rice flashed potential in his limited freshman season, though, posting a career-high 29 points at Syracuse in his collegiate debut.
Rice has two years of eligibility remaining and has been linked to Villanova following Willard’s official move there Sunday, although he could still return to Maryland.
Rice joins fellow starting guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, along with Jay Young and Tafara Gapare in the portal. With vacancies at athletic director and head coach, heavy usage of the transfer portal was expected.