Before the beginning of the 2023-24 Virginia Tech men's basketball season, the Hokies and Mike Young took a surprising hit with the roster when guard Rodney Rice left the program in mid-October. Once the transfer portal opened last spring, he entered.
When the dust settled, Rice ended up at Maryland to play for Kevin Willard and the Terrapins. This season he was part of a Maryland team that played very well in the Big Ten, advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament before falling at the buzzer to Michigan. The Terrapins won their first two NCAA Tournament games before falling last Thursday night in the Sweet 16 to Florida.
After a couple of days after the loss to the Gators in San Francisco, Willard left Maryland for Villanova and the Big East. With him moving on, it didn't take too long for Rice to decide to leave College Park as well.
Former Virginia Tech guard Rodney Rice enters the transfer portal again
On Monday, it was reported that Rice would be entering the portal again. Where he ends up, who knows, but opportunity is there for him to follow Willard to Villanova. If not, he'll be a highly-sought after guard in the portal.
Maryland Guard Rodney Rice has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal @rodneyrice__ pic.twitter.com/ykc9tAj4xv
— Momentous Sports Partners (@MomentousSP) March 31, 2025
This season for Maryland, Rice averaged 13.8 points a game and shot 43% from the field. In the NCAA Tournament, he had nine points in a first-round win over Grand Canyon and then added 16 in a second-round win over Colorado State. He had 12 in a loss to Florida last week.
The Maryland native played in eight games in 2022-23 for Virginia Tech, averaging almost 20 minutes a game and 7.4 points. His loss before the 2023-24 campaign was a big one as it left Young one point guard short which put a lot of pressure on Sean Pedulla handling the ball.