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NCAA D1 Council votes for extra year of eligibility for spring-sports

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The NCAA D1 Council voted in favor of an extra year of eligibility for all spring-sport athletes. Several Rice athletes will get back a season of eligibility.

The biggest story surrounding the future of Rice baseball centered on what would become of the current squad. Suspended roughly a quarter of the way into the 2020 season, the Owls awaited the verdict of the NCAA D1 Council.

Proposals had been thrown around over the last several weeks. The big question was what changes, if any, would be made to ensure the “appropriate” level of relief was granted to spring sport athletes. Now it’s official. The NCAA D1 Council has voted to award an extra year of eligibility to all spring-sport athletes.

Reports cite a letter written by student-athletes to the NCAA as a contributing factor toward the positive decision.

At South Main, this ruling will presumably have a direct impact on Rice Baseball, Tennis, Golf, Swimming and Track and Field. How it will play out in the coming weeks is less certain.

A key piece in the ruling was the financial burden of these added scholarships. Per a report by The Athletic, schools will have the ability to decide on the level of financial commitment on a per athlete basis. No decision has been reached on how that ruling will be applied at Rice.

At the extreme, that could play out as partial or no scholarship support to players who currently hold full scholarships. The NCAA says the Student Assitance Fund may be used to cover the cost of these scholarships.

More: Erica Ogwumike talks end of season, Rice career on The Roost Podcast

Spring sports operate under much different scholarship requirements than their fall counterparts. The one-athlete to one-scholarship ratio is much less cut and dry in the spring compared to sports like football and basketball.

More details like how these players will be counted regarding roster limitations will be forthcoming. Today, the big decision was made. No Rice baseball player will lose their season. It’s possible the Owls still lose players like Trei Cruz to the draft, but those who want to return will have a spot. The NCAA did the right thing. Read the full release here.

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Rice Football Recruiting: New 2021 offers continue through the shutdown

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It’s been a busy month for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class. The lack of in-person visits hasn’t slowed the Owls down on the recruiting trail at all.

The coronavirus pandemic has put the sports world in gridlock. The NCAA suspended all in person on-campus and off-campus recruiting through April 15, making adding new members to the class difficult, but not impossible. The 2021 Rice football recruiting class picked up four commitments in the week leading up to the stoppage and has continued to offer targets since in-person recruiting was temporarily halted.

I caught up with several of these players to get their interest on Rice and find out where they’re at in their recruitment process. Here’s a rundown of the names to know at some key positions, many of which have surfaced in the last few weeks.

Quarterback

The shifting dynamics on the recruiting front have impacted the Owls’ quarterback hunt significantly. Rice has altered its strategy to some degree, offering three quarterbacks this week rather than putting all their eggs in one basket. Extending these offers officially puts Rice in the mix for three dynamic signal-callers.

Shawqi Itraish (Bradenton, FL) says he’s been impressed with the consistency and focus of the Owls’ staff when it comes to building a relationship despite the long distance. He hasn’t been on campus yet but would love to as soon as he can.

Lucas Coley (San Antonio, TX) did get the chance to visit and liked what he saw. He said he understands the “40-year decision” that Rice offers and how unique an opportunity it would be to get a high-level degree and play D1 football would be. He likes the staff, but is most looking forward to seeing how the culture translates onto the field this fall. Proving this program is on the upswing is an important factor for him.

Jaylen Henderson (West Hills, CA) rounds out the trio of offered passers. Rice has made sound headwinds in California in recent years, landing Jake Bailey (2019) and Lamont Narcisse (2020). Adding someone with the finesse of Henderson, who can attack defenses both through the air and on the ground, would represent another big out-of-state win for the Owls.

It’s very early in the game for all three of these players. It’s important to note that Rice football recruiting offers are handed out with purpose. Rice would be happy to have any of these three as their cornerstone passer for the 2021 class.

Offensive Line

Rice is going to be in very good position with its 2021 class. Faaenauu Pepe is already in the fold and the response has been overwhelmingly positive from the other targets Rice has offered on the offensive line. Canon Boone (Dickinson, TX) is the newest name to watch right now.

Defensive Line

There’s a good chance Rice keeps their growing pipeline to the Northeast open with Khordae Sydnor. A standout pass rusher from Iona Prep, Sydnor is the No. 5 rated defensive end in the state of New York. Former Iona Prep players Jordan Dunbar and Derek Ferraro play for the Owls right now. Dunbar’s influence has been important for Sydnor as he explores Rice. On the local front, Stone Eby (Flower Mound, TX) has risen up as a target at that position.

On the interior, Bryce Goodner (Athens, TN) is a grown man that can play both ways, although the Owls want him on the defensive side. He’s hoping to get to campus whenever possible. He, Elroyal Morris (Houston, TX), and Grady Kelly (Navarre, FL) were both offered in the last several weeks. Morris was able to get to campus before the break. That seems to have been extremely beneficial in his recruitment.

Tight end

Jaggar Hebeisen (Colleyville, TX) is another prospect that seemed particularly high on the Owls. At the moment, he’s the clear-cut No. 1 target at the tight end position. He’s looking forward to getting on campus as soon as he can, but the shutdown has stretched out his recruitment just like everyone else.

Linebacker

Two of the Owls’ four current commitments play linebacker, so Rice is really starting to narrow their focus here. DJ Arkansas (Denton, TX), Dylan Hazen (The Woodlands, TX) and DJ Brown (Memphis, TN) are the remaining offered players on the Owls’ board at this time.

Arkansas was the first defensive player Rice offered in this class. His stock has continued to rise. It’s possible the shutdown could aid Rice in his recruitment, but we’ll have to wait and see. Brown and Hazen have both seen an uptick in their interest in recent weeks with Hazen picking up an offer from Illinois this week.

Other recruiting notes

Rice did something interesting in their final spring practice. Without knowing it would be their last, head coach Mike Bloomgren flipped the position groups. Running backs did linebacker drills with the defensive coaches. Defensive lineman worked with Bloomgren and new o-line coach Sanders Davis. Prudy Calderon was a quarterback. Wiley Green played defensive back and even made a nifty play on the ball for a leaping interception.

The change made my head spin on the sideline, but the players had a blast. One upperclassman remarked on his way off the field that this was one of the most fun practices he’d ever been a part of at Rice.

Beyond lifting the spirits of the team, the recruits on hand picked up on the energy. Placide Djungu-Sungu (Arlington, TX) and Trevor Woods (Katy, TX) both told me they really enjoyed getting to see everyone playing their opposite roles.

Lastly, one overarching topic that has flown a bit under the radar regarding the 2021 class. SAT and ACT testing has been put on hold, along with everything else. At least for the time being, recruits are riding with whatever their last test score was. Getting the grade is an important first step in the recruiting process. It hasn’t appeared to limit the Owls’ much so far,  but it’s another factor to keep in mind.

Join The Roost. React to stories and news in the forum. Stay plugged into the latest happenings in Rice Football with practice notes recruiting updates and more. We are your No. 1 source for Rice Athletics News.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 26 – Rice Owls Voice JP Heath and 2010s Mount Rushmore

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The spring Rice Athletics seasons have come to an end, freeing up Rice Owls Voice JP Heath to join the show and talk Rice greats of the past decade.

On a normal evening in late-March, Rice Owls Voice JP Heath would be calling a Rice Baseball game. An NCAA Tournament berth for a hopeful Rice women’s basketball team could have been on the docket, too. With Rice Athletics on hiatus til at least the fall, he joined The Roost Podcast to recap a wild few weeks in sports.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. Last week we talked with Erica Ogwumike. For now, Give a listen to Episode 26.

Episode 26 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Thanks to everyone who’s left
  • JP’s journey to Rice — Starting with his days in Commerce, Texas, JP recounts his journey to South Main.
  • Rice Athletics in the 2010s — Starting with his first season on the diamond in 2009, JP’s been around to see coaching transitions for Rice baseball (Wayne Graham to Matt Bragga), Rice basketball (Mike Rhoades to Scott Pera) and Rice football (David Bailiff to Mike Bloomgren). He gives us an overview of how each program has grown through those changes.
  • Rice Athletic’s 2010s Mount Rushmore — We closed the show with a challenging game, with JP, Carter and Matthew working through their Mount Rushmore for Rice Athletes in the 2010s.
    ** Spoiler Alert**
    The final four: Anthony Rendon, Christian Covington, Erica Ogwumike and Sam McGuffie
  • Honorable Mentions — Listen to the show for a long list of honorable mentions. Rice quarterback Taylor McHargue was on the cusp of the final four, narrowly losing out to McGuffie. Was that the right call? Let us know! Send in your 2010’s Mount Rushmore for Rice Athletics below.

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

Join The Roost. React to stories and news in the forum. Stay plugged into the latest happenings in Rice Football with practice notes recruiting updates and more. We are your No. 1 source for Rice Athletics News.

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Rice Basketball: Owls ready for next step in 2020 and beyond

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Rice basketball is headed in the right direction and Scott Pera has been tasked with turning that momentum into meaningful results in 2020 and beyond.

Seven. Thirteen. Fifteen. The gradual improvement of the Rice basketball team under head coach Scott Pera can be measured in a somewhat linear fashion. On the most rudimentary metric, wins, Pera’s squad has shown tangible improvement following his first year at Rice in 2017.

Rice finished 15-17 this past season, one win away from a .500 record. “I’m excited about where we’re going with this,” Pera said with passion, knowingly declaring a truth he believes runs much deeper than the win column could ever dictate. That’s because Pera came to Rice with the long game in mind.

Refusing to cut corners and committed to building things “the right way”, Pera has stuck to his guns this far. He’s endeavored to build a program rooted in players who love the challenge Rice affords, who know how to win and who are committed to working each and every day to get better. It sounds a bit like coach-speak, but there’s rich truth behind those ideals.

“Character counts in this business,” Pera declared, stressing culture and process over instant gratification. He believes that gratification isn’t far off.

“We’re close,” he said detailing the next few hurdles he sees in front of his team. For Pera, he views those next steps as establishing the program as a top-five finisher in the conference, one that always makes the Conference USA Tournament and routinely wins a few games in Frisco. Yes, a championship is the end goal, but Pera is committing to charting the course to get there, and then get back again, and again.

To get there takes building blocks that go beyond the box score. The maturity of the roster as a whole is something Pera routinely evaluates. He’s not afraid to step aside and let the leaders in the locker room lead. The Owls have reached a point in their development that Pera has full confidence they know the kind of self-talk they need to motivate themselves, even midgame.

More: Erica Ogwumike talks end of season, Rice career on The Roost Podcast

That resolve was put on display frequently. Erratic defensive performances put the Owls in double-digit holes throughout the season but Rice lost just four conference games by 10 or more points. They won five by double-digit margins. In nonconference play, they overcame a 22-point deficit to beat UC Santa Barbara on the road.

On the bad shooting days, Rice struggled to keep pace with their better opponents. Nevertheless, it was rare for the Owls to enter the final quarter of play without a fighting chance to win. The worse results came on the road with Rice losing only one game at home (vs Sam Houston State) by more than eight points. More often than not Rice was competitive and that energy has staying power.

The Owls were inconsistent, but they never lacked effort. At times, they were undisciplined but they never quit. Those are makings of a team with the right mental makeup to take another developmental step.

There’s no doubt seniors Ako Adams and Robert Martin made a tremendous impact. But the poise and influence of sophomores like Drew Peterson, Trey Murphy and Chris Mullins project a mentality Pera believes he can build on. Peterson emerged as a bonafide leader this season, one of several faces to turn to in times of struggle.

“It’s a process, it’s a growth, it’s a vision that now is really, really exciting. We enter Year 4 with this group coming back,” Pera said. “I’m looking forward to seeing these guys make the next step.”

By his own standard, Pera’s team should be a contender in Conference USA next season. Whether or not they reach that mantel will be determined by their effort and focus from now until November. Pera will put in the work. If he can get his team to maintain his level of focus, the future of Rice basketball could be as bright as he believes it to be. Only time will tell.

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Rice Basketball: Robert Martin finds home as Owls’ sixth man

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Robert Martin found his role for Rice basketball midway through his senior season. How a switch to the bench paid off for Martin and his team.

Basketball is a game of adjustments. On the simplest level, each player strives to take their best shot. How that shot is executed — and who takes it — varies from series to series, game to game and season to season. What worked for a team in November isn’t always the best recipe by February. That’s the puzzle Rice Basketball and senior Robert Martin found themselves in this season.

Martin started nine of his first 10 games and had a decent amount of success. He scored a season-high 23 points with five three-pointers against Houston. That was part of a five-game run of double-digit points. But a six-point outing against Lamar in which he shot 1-for-10 from the field served as a reminder that things weren’t clicking quite at 100 percent for the Owls’ senior.

Then Martin made the bold decision to ask head coach Scott Pera to come off the bench rather than play from the starting lineup. It was Martin who approached Pera about the switch, not the other way around. “The fact that he would say that and think that could be beneficial to him and the team says a lot about him,” Pera said, recalling the conversation. “It just worked.”

The shift was almost instantaneous. Martin dropped 20 points against Houston Baptist in his first game after his starting streak ended. He scored in double-digits in 13 of his final 17 games from that point onward.

There was a mental shift in Martin that impacted how he played on the court. He shot 36.0 percent from the field in games he started and 49.6 percent when he came off the bench. He hit 27.1 of his three-point shots as a starter and 41.3 percent off the bench. Martin averaged slightly more assists (2.1 per game to 1.9) and fewer turnovers (1.5 per game to 2.1) in his new role compared to when he was starting. It was almost as if a switch had flipped.

More: Erica Ogwumike talks end of season, Rice career on The Roost Podcast

Martin’s mental pivot impacted his teammates. Shortly after he moved to the bench the team fell into a tough stretch, opening C-USA play 1-7.

“At this point, we really have nothing to lose. So I think that although all the pressures, the jitters, being nervous, we can kind of throw that all out the door,” Martin said following a heartbreaking home loss to UTEP. Rice would lose their next game to UTSA, but then things turned around.

Rice basketball knocked off C-USA’s eventual champion North Texas at home to begin a hot streak. They won six of their next eight games, clinching a spot in the conference tournament. The credit doesn’t belong to Martin alone, but his decision impacted the team in a big way.

Pera admitted he didn’t know how Martin was going to fit into the rotation at the beginning of the season. “I wasn’t a hundred percent sure which way it was gonna go. Were we going to start him? Weren’t we going to start him,” he recalled.

Ultimately Martin made the decision on his own. Pera supported him. It didn’t come to pass like either had drawn it up, but some plans require a bit of tinkering. Martin owes his strong finish to his senior season to a course correction that impacted everyone for the better.

Join The Roost. React to stories and news in the forum. Stay plugged into the latest happenings in Rice Football with practice notes recruiting updates and more. We are your No. 1 source for Rice Athletics News.

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