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2025 Rice Football Roster Analysis: January 2025 Q&A

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The Transfer Portal has closed and the 2025 Rice Football spring roster is set. Are there any gaps? Which positions need reinforcements before the fall?

New Rice football head coach Scott Abell has wrapped up a whirlwind first few weeks on the job, finalizing his staff and his initial roster before spring practices get underway in the coming weeks. Before the team gets onto the field, though, how did he and his staff do on the first pass of the roster? This month’s Q&A addresses that current state and digs into which positions made the biggest strides and a few areas potentially in need of more reinforcements.

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Rice Women’s Basketball surges late to take down Tulsa

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Rice Women’s Basketball overcame a sluggish start, peaking late to notch a conference win over Tulsa at Tudor Fieldhouse.

It was a slow start for both sides at Tudor Fieldhouse on Wednesday night as sloppy play and shooting droughts turned the contest into a grimy, low-scoring affair. Rice began the game 1-for-17 from three and couldn’t find the mark from deep, failing to take advantage of what truly was a stout defensive performance in the early goings.

The teams were tied at 17 apiece after one frame and combined to score just 12 points in the entirety of the second quarter with a total of five made field goals in that 10 minute span. Turnovers kept either side from getting into rhythm as both teams went into the locker room in need of an offensive spark which proved elusive.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Dominque Ennis attempted to get Rice going with a three out of the break. Unfortunately, further shooting woes from both sides and a smattering of trips to the free throw line left the game still hanging in the balance well into the fourth quarter when the Owls’ bench stepped up.

Consecutive baskets from Hailey Adams and Kennedy Clifton stretched the Rice lead to eight, their largest of the game. Victoria Flores, who scored a career-best 26 points, delivered a backbreaking three with the shot clock running down to get the lead to double-digits. From there, Tulsa found themselves in too big of a whole to climb out of as Rice poured it on late with a 15-0 run to earn a rather hard-fought victory given the final score.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 19-0 all-time against Tulsa at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 64, Tulsa 45

Key takeaway | Finding an offensive solution

It was only a few days ago that Rice women’s basketball scored 84 points against Charlotte, finding ample success in the paint (40 points) and from three (36 points). The Owls success in the paint against Tulsa on Wednesday (36 points) proved to be just enough to get them over the hump. Nine points from three was underwhelming. That disparity was palpable from start to finish in this game.

“I’m just really proud of this group. I thought we came out and had a great defensive first half and the defense held us down while we had a little bit of offensive woes, but we were really, really tough and we found a way in the second half to get our offense going,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said. “I think we proved how tough we can be on both sides of the ball tonight and we did it for 40 minutes.”

Ebbs and flows come with basketball. It’s a volatile sport where even the best miss half their shots. What Rice women’s basketball lacks right now is a high enough floor on that side of the ball. If they can play defense like this, even a slightly more consistent offensive output will help them win games. Figuring out how to orchestrate that growth is the most pressing issue facing this team as February arrives.

“I don’t think we need to necessarily tweak anything. We go the shots we wanted in the first half they just unfortunately didn’t fall,” Edmonds said. “but on nights when the shots aren’t falling you can always depend on your defense and your rebounding.”

Up Next: at FAU (Sat, 2/1)

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Rice Football Recruiting Profile: DB Omari Porter signs with Owls

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The 2025 Rice Football recruiting class added a pair of veteran defensive backs to its roster including former Stanford defensive back Omari Porter.

The growing 2025 Rice Football recruiting class added a lengthy group of spring reinforcements who enrolled in classes this January. Many made public announcements on social media, but not all. One such under-the-radar addition was former Stanford defensive back Omari Porter.

Porter was an active member of the Cardinal secondary for five seasons on The Farm, making his college football debut and made his first tackle in Stanford’s 2020 season opener against Oregon. He would go on to play in 31 games for the program over the span of five seasons, seeing his involvement peak in 2023 when he appeared in 12 games with two starts.

Injuries limited Porter in 2024 before he opted to enter the Transfer Portal and explore opportunities elsewhere. Originally a three-star signee from Auburn, Alabama, Porter played his first few years at Stanford under David Shaw before spending the last two seasons under the leadership of Troy Taylor.

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Porter has an extensive history playing special teams as well as flexibility on defense. He saw most of his usage at Stanford as a corner before moving to safety for one season. He expected to play corner for Rice. At a bare minimum, he’ll be an asset to Rice football in multiple phases. With so many spots up for grabs in the defensive backfield, Porter will have a chance to quickly come in and compete for playing time.

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Rice Football Recruiting: ATH Colin Leahey commits to Owls

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The 2025 Rice Football recruiting class just added an offensive weapon from their own back yard. Athlete Colin Leahey has committed to the Owls.

The furious run of impactful high school additions to the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class hasn’t slowed down yet. Days removed from a productive official visit weekend with several new pledges, Rice has added another piece. Versatile offensive playmaker Colin Leahey has committed to the Owls.

At the time of his commitment, Leahey held offers from Air Force, Army and a host of Ivy League programs. He’s one of several new additions in the recent days which have opted for South Main over the likes of the academies and peer academic institutions.

“I love the family atmosphere that Coach Abell and his staff want to bring to the program,” Leahey told The Roost. “Coach Abell and his staff’s knowledge of the game is apparent in the success they’ve had over the years.”

Rice signed a pair of running backs in the early cycle, North Shore’s D’Andre Hardeman and Lake Creek’s Tyvonn Byars. Adding Leahey to the mix, to complement an already strong room, will give Abell plenty of options to tote the rock in his first season on South Main.

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On the field, Leahey profiles as a running back, but he’s versatile enough to split out wide and be used as a receiver as well. The ability to potentially contribute at both spots was part of what made the Owls’ offensive scheme so appealing. He can do so many things with the ball in his hands, something that jumps out immediately when you turn on the film. Regardless of where he lines up, this profiles as a great add for the Owls.

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Early lead fizzles as Rice Basketball falls to USF

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Early lead not enough as Rice Basketball dropped their sixth straight in AAC play, falling to South Florida on the road.

Rice basketball got off to a red-hot start on the road against South Florida, jumping out to an 11-3 lead before the Bulls could settle in. That lead would be short lived — USF rallied to tie the game at 11 shortly thereafter — but the aggressiveness Rice played with led to another big advantage, this time as many as 14 points as the final minutes began to tick away in the first half.

USF would not go away. The home team closed the first half on a 7-0 run and scored 14 of the first 16 points after halftime. All of a sudden it was Rice forced to play from behind. Trae Broadnax rose to the occasion, scoring six of the Owls’ next nine, willing the game into a slugfest, at least for a while.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Rice would get back within a point, but South Florida did not slow down. That small edge gradually grew as the game wore on with the Bulls banking multiple buckets in a row before Rice got a shot to fall. By the time the teams hit the final media timeout, USF led by double-digits and the Owls’ early lead felt like it had been so long ago.

A furious push in the final minutes allowed Rice to get the game back within three, but the rally would prove to be too little, too late as South Florida held on to win. Rice falls to 11-10 with the loss and 2-6 in conference play.

Final Box | USF 69, Rice 64

Key takeaway | Defensive dip

Rice basketball has now lost six AAC games in a row after a 2-0 start in league play. So many of these games have been decided on the margins, but if there is one throughline amongst them all it’s been an dip in defensive performance.

It’s not as if Rice has been a poor defensive team — entering Wednesday the Owls ranked second in the conference in opponent field goal percentage allowed — but the difference in their losing skid has been pronounced.

In their first 15 games, including AAC wins over Tulsa and Charlotte, Rice allowed opponents to shoot 38.5 percent from the floor. In their last six that rate has jumped up to 45.8 percent including a 40 percent shooting performance from USF.

This has still been a formidable defensive unit on most possessions, but ebbs and flows with the offense, turnovers and smaller losses on the margins have put this team into too many tough places. An 0-6 run is the result.

Up Next: vs Memphis (Sun, Feb. 2)

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