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Rice Baseball: Astros select Parker Smith in 4th Round of MLB Draft

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A Houston native, Rice baseball hurler Parker Smith has been selected in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros.

Parker Smith won’t have to travel to continue his baseball journey. The Rice baseball staff ace was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros on Monday. He became the highest Owl drafted since Trei Cruz went in the third round to the Detroit Tigers in 2020 and a fifth top-five round selection for the program in the past six years.

Smith paced the Owls on the mound for each of the last two seasons, making 32 consecutive starts over that time. Smith was an All-Conference selection in Conference USA in 2023. He followed that up by finishing in the top 10 in the American in strikeouts () and ERA this past season.

Smith is the 13th Rice player drafted by the Astros. Garrett Gayle was the most recent South Main to Crawford Street selection, a 12th-round pick by the Astros in 2012.

Rice Baseball MLB Draft selections (last 10 years)

Player Draft Year Team Round
Parker Smith 2024 Astros 4
Justin Long 2023 Braves 7
Hayden Durke 2023 Diamondbacks 13
Matthew Linskey 2023 Diamondbacks 16
Roel Garcia 2022 Rays 14
Trei Cruz 2020 Tigers 3
Matt Canterino 2019 Twins 2
Evan Kravetz 2019 Reds 5
Garrett Gayle 2019 Astros 12
Roel Garcia 2019 Blue Jays 27
Trei Cruz 2019 Nationals 37
Addison Moss 2019 Rays 37
Ford Proctor 2018 Rays 3
Ricky Salinas 2018 Reds 25
Cody Staab 2018 Marines 30
Glenn Otto 2017 Yankees 5
Dane Myers 2017 Tigers 6
Tristan Gray 2017 Pirates 13
Jon Duplantier 2016 Diamondbacks 3
Blake Fox 2016 Brewers 10
Jordan Stephens 2015 White Sox 5
Leon Byrd 2015 Rangers 10
Kevin McCanna 2015 Astros 13
Austin Orewiler 2015 Reds 14
Matt Ditman 2015 Roayls 16
John Clay Reeves 2015 Nationals 20
John Williamson 2015 Cubs 23
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2024 Rice Football Opponent Season Preview: UTSA

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Frank Harris won’t be on the field, but UTSA still has grand aspirations. What can Rice Football expect from the Roadrunners in 2024?

Head Coach: Jeff Traylor
Record at School: 39-14 (4 Yr) | Career FBS Record 39-14 (4 Yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Justin Burke | Defensive Coordinator: Jess Loepp

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Rice Football Recruiting: K Landon Shaffer commits to Owls

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The first specialist of the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class has made his pledge official. Kicker Landon Shaffer has committed to the Owls.

The 2025 Rice football recruiting class includes a commitment from players at almost every position on both sides of the ball, but until recently, it did not include any specialists. That changed this week. Kicker Landon Shaffer has committed to the Owls.

Rice was the first to offer Shaffer following a standout performance at camp this summer. The offer was a rarity for the Owls, who have only extended formal scholarship offers to a select few group of specialists since head coach Mike Bloomgren arrived on campus. This has been a position fueled, primarily, by walk-ons. Shaffer bucked the trend by proving himself worth the investment in time and resources.

Beyond the offer itself, Shaffer cited his relationship with the Rice coaching staff as the driving force behind his commitment, specifically citing his connection with special teams coordinator Peter Alamar. “He really has a lot of knowledge on my position and on top of that, he’s an amazing person,” Shaffer told The Roost.

Shaffer said the plan for the time being is for him to focus on placekicking and kickoffs, two facets of his game he feels he does best, although he’s open to handling punting duties too if called upon.

“I’m excited to be a part of what’s building in Houston,” he said.

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The film is exactly what you’d expect from a kicker: lots of balls going through the posts. Shaffer demonstrates accuracy from both hashes as well as plenty of distance, drilling a 50-yard try to open his highlights. There’s some kickoff tape in there as well. Ultimately, this is a position judged first and foremost by consistency. The talent is there, though, and if Shaffer can showcase it with regularity the Owls might have just found their solution at the position for years to come.

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Rice Football Recruiting: TE Jordan Andrus commits to Owls

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The 2025 Rice Football recruiting class continues to soar with another impactful addition. Yates tight end Jordan Andrus has committed to the Owls.

The 2025 Rice Football recruiting class already stretches from coast to coast with commitments ranging from California to South Carolina and as far north as Michigan. The base of the class, though, will always be the Lone Star State. With more than a dozen Texan commitments in the fold so far, the Owls have landed a gem out of their own back yard. Tight end Jordan Andrus, from Houston’s Yates High School, has committed to the Owls.

Andrus is one of the Owls’ most highly sought-after commitments in this class to date. In committing to Rice, Andrus turned down offers from Arizona State, Georgia Tech, SMU, Washington State, Memphis, North Texas and others. Although he certainly had opportunities to head elsewhere, the Houston native is staying home and will be making the short drive across town to South Main.

A multi-sport athlete, Andrus did a little bit of everything at the high school level. He was a basketball star while also playing two ways on the gridiron, working as a tight end as well as the defensive line.

Andrus is listed as a three-star recruit according to 247 Sports ratings and has become one of the highest-rated members of the 2025 class. He’s also the third tight end in the group following earlier commitments from Luke Tevis (Paschal HS) and Will Swartz (Hargrave HS).

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The film matches the resume. Andrus has incredible athleticism for someone of his size. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound playmaker possesses the power to run through would-be tacklers as well as the speed and quickness to leave linebackers over the middle of the field in his dust. The versatile playmaker will be utilized in a myriad of ways in the Owls’ offense.

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Rice Football Recruiting: SAF Michael Amey III commits to Owls

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The recent wave of 2025 Rice Football recruiting class wins marches onward. Hightower safety Michael Amey III has committed to the Owls.

The 2025 Rice Football recruiting class has added commitments from almost every position following a flurry of visits and offers in late June and early July. A true safety wasn’t among those new pledges, though. Now the class has one in the fold. Michael Amey has committed to the Owls.

Amey picked Rice over offers from Hawaii, Texas Southern, HCU, Lamar and UTRGV, among others. The Rice coaching staff hasn’t been afraid to be one of the first to extend an offer and tends to be very confident in their evaluations.

With Amey on board, the 2025 class is starting to fill out and take shape. The 247 Sports rankings, which still have yet to list a few of the Owls’ more recent commitments, including Amey, lists Rice in the top 100 classes nationally and top five in the AAC. That’s a good launching point for the program as the summer starts to wind down as we march toward the fall and the return of football.

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The film does a great job of showcasing Amey’s vision and instincts in the middle of the field. He has tremendous range and isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder and deliver a punishing blow when he arrives at his target. Amey is a true centerfielder who should find himself right at home in the Owls’ defensive scheme.

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