Rice baseball hit the Transfer Portal hard this summer, adding several reinforcements that will help the Owls on the field next season.
Newly named Rice baseball head coach Jose Cruz Jr. hit the ground running in Houston roughly one month ago. He hasn’t slowed down his pace since. In the past few weeks he’s hired pitching coaching Colter Bostick, invited current Houston Astros’ star Alex Bregman to stop by Reckling Park and hammered the Transfer Portal.
Rice baseball has picked up commitments from three new Owls, all of which have the potential to make an impact for the team on the diamond in 2022. Here’s a quick rundown of the new commits:
Tom Vincent, LHP – Texas A&M
Vincent was a two-way player during his days at Memorial High School in Houston, hitting .545 his senior year at the plate with a 2.55 ERA on the mound. He signed with Texas A&M last year but did not play for the Aggies during the 2021 season. Perfect Game tabbed him as the No. 10 LHP in Texas in his class. He has four years of eligibility remaining.
Drew Woodcox, SS – Texas Tech
Woodcox played his high school ball at Lamar High School and made his collegiate debut this spring. He played sparingly for Texas Tech, tallying just 36 official at bats with seven hits, a .167 average. Perfect Game ranked him as the No. 49 player in the state of Texas coming out of high school. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Jack Reidel, INF – North Carolina
A versatile infielder, Reidel is also returning home to Houston. The former Houston Memorial product saw limited action at North Carolina this past season, participating in eight games with two hits in 10 at bats, both of which came in his collegiate debut against James Madison. Reidel was the No. 19 player in the state of Texas coming out of high school and according to Mark Berman, drew interest from Texas A&M and TCU before choosing Rice.