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Rice Football Recruiting: OL Cole Principe commits to Owls

April 30, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

The first offensive line pledge of the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class is on the board. Cole Principe has committed to the Owls.

Since head coach Mike Bloomgren arrived at South Main building from the trenches up has been a theme of every Rice football recruiting class. The 2025 group is no expectation. That’s why it comes as no surprise that one of the first pledges of the upcoming class will put his hand in the dirt and be ready to protect. Orange Lutheran offensive lineman Cole Principe has committed to the Owls.

The Owls were one of the first to offer Principe, who also held offers from Air Force and Cornell before making his decision to commit to Rice. “After my visit, I knew it was where I wanted to be,” Principe told The Roost.

Principe’s time on campus was impactful. He got a better appreciation for the Owls’ offensive scheme in his time sitting in on meetings and enjoyed his conversations with the coaching staff. All in all, the atmosphere around the program proved to be one he wanted to join.

“I love to win,” he said. “I am excited to be a part of a program who has been on an upward trajectory of winning and I hope to help take it to the next level.

As it stands, Principe is the third commitment of the 2025 class and the second to make their pledge official in the month of April. North Shore running back D’Andre Hardeman committed two weeks ago. Prior to their additions, Madison Prep (LA) athlete Semaj Pierre had been the lone commitment, dating back to November 2023.

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The 6-foot-3, 285-pound Principe is a people mover with experience at both guard and tackle. His film shows good balance and quickness off the ball, both things that will help him tremendously at the collegiate level. Principe frame and athleticism are exciting, making him a great bet to be a productive player at the next level.

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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Football Recruiting Tagged With: Cole Principe, Rice Football, Rice Football recruiting

AAC Baseball: Standings tight entering the home stretch

April 29, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Three weeks remain in the regular season and the  AAC Baseball conference title race is beginning to take shape.

SCHOOL CONF OVERALL
East Carolina 14-4 35-8
UTSA 12-6 25-18
Tulane 9-9 24-20
Florida Atlantic 9-9 22-19
Charlotte 9-9 20-24
South Florida 8-10 22-21
Wichita State 8-10 22-23
Rice 8-10 17-26
UAB 7-11 20-22
Memphis 6-12 18-26

Notable storylines results

1. ECU’s title to lose

The Pirates entered the year as the unquestioned favorite to win the American Conference crown. Through the majority of the regular season, there’s been no reason to doubt their place atop the league standings. Only three regular-season losses have the Pirates in the hunt for a National Seed. While it’s still mathematically possible for UTSA to catch them, the odds are certainly in their favor to finish the job.

2. Rice is cooking (more)

Rice baseball is one of the reasons ECU is currently enjoying a two-game lead in the standings. While the Pirates were taking care of business against Memphis over the weekend, Rice was taking a series from UTSA, who entered the weekend tied atop the league standings with ECU. Now the Roadrunners are two games back and the Owls are in the mix to make the field as winners of eight of their last ten.

3. Who will avoid the chopping block?

There are 10 teams in the league this year and only eight spots in the conference tournament. That means two teams are going to be staying home in a few weeks and the battle for those last spots is going to come down to the wire. Three games separate the 3-seed and the last-place team in the standings (Memphis). And even if the Tigers have another tough weekend, we could be looking at seven teams for six spots.

4. What’s on deck?

There are a host of hugely important series this weekend between those middle-of-the-pack teams. Charlotte hosts Rice and FAU hosts FAU. Memphis might be in a do-or-die set with Tulane and if UTSA has any hopes of contending for a regular season title, they absolutely have to beat Wichita State at home. USF at ECU rounds out the conference slate.

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Filed Under: AAC, Archive

Rice Baseball takes series from league-leading UTSA

April 28, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Baseball took two out of three from league-leading UTSA, securing their third straight conference win to get back in the mix in the AAC.

FRIDAY | Rice 9 – UTSA 8 (10 innings)

Things were looking up when Tobias Motley and Ben Dukes each delivered two-run home runs in the second inning on Friday night, putting the Owls up 4-1 with Parker Smith on the mound. Smith would run into some trouble in the fourth, but leave the game in the sixth inning having staked Rice to a 7-3 advantage.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball sweeps USF

Tom Vincent and Davion Hickson got Rice to the ninth inning with a three-run lead, but Hickson suffered a rare blown save, allowing UTSA to tie the game in the top of the ninth. Garrett Stratton would come to the rescue, getting out of the ninth without allowing the Owls to fall behind and setting up a walk-off win. Motley led off the inning with a triple and scored on a squeeze bunt by Jacob Devenny.

SQUEEZE!!! WALK IT OFF!!!#GoOwls👐 pic.twitter.com/rC3fr7irr9

— Rice Baseball (@RiceBaseball) April 27, 2024

SATURDAY | Rice 9 – UTSA 3

It was all Owls from the jump on Saturday. Rice loaded the bases with two outs in the first then picked up a pair of clutch hits: a bases-clearing RBI single from Nathan Becker to go up 3-0 and then a two-run home run from Trey Duffield.

First-inning fireworks courtesy of Trey Duffield 🎆 pic.twitter.com/rdp9Tulg7I

— Rice Baseball (@RiceBaseball) April 27, 2024

As if that wasn’t enough, Rice followed that up with three runs in the second, taking advantage of errant UTSA pitching and an RBI single from Pierce Gallo to go up 8-0 midway through the second.

Handed a commanding lead, JD McCracken bore down and tossed another gem. He made it all the way to the ninth inning before being lifted for Jackson Blank, who picked up the final two outs.

SUNDAY | UTSA 4 – Rice 2

Seemingly out of nowhere, a pitcher’s duel broke out in the series finale. Rice’s Tucker Alch squared off with UTSA’s Ulises Quiroga for the better part of six innings with neither man ceding much to his opposition. Ben Dukes was able to sneak a two-run home run just inside the right-field foul pole in the third, but that was the only score either starter yielded on the day.

More: Jose Cruz Jr. and the trajectory of Rice Baseball

Rice maintained a slim 2-0 lead from that point onward, keeping the game in check until UTSA broke through with a four-run rally in the top of the eighth. The Roadrunners struck six hits in the frame, including a go-ahead two-run home run off Garrett Stratton. That would prove to be the deciding swing.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. Loud and clear

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ON DECK | at Lamar (Tues), at Charlotte (Fri-Sun)

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Filed Under: AAC, Baseball, Premium Tagged With: Ben Dukes, Davion Hickson, game recap, Garrett Stratton, Jackson Blank, Jacob Devenny, JD McCracken, Nathan Becker, Parker Smith, Rice baseball, Tobias Motley, Tom Vincent, Trey Duffield, Tucker Alch

NFL Draft: WR Luke McCaffrey selected No. 100 Overall by Commanders

April 26, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Former Rice football wide receiver Luke McCaffrey was selected No. 100 overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2024 NFL Draft.

A steady riser throughout the pre-draft process, Luke McCaffrey didn’t have to wait long to learn his pro destination. The former Rice football wide receiver was selected with the final pick of the third round, going No. 100 overall to the Washington Commanders.

McCaffrey enters the NFL following a season in which he led the AAC in touchdown receptions (12), racking up 68 receptions and 963 receiving yards in the process.

He’ll follow in the footsteps of a family flush with NFL bloodlines. Luke’s brother, Christian, is a standout running back with the San Francisco 49ers. His father, Ed, was a third-round pick to the Denver Broncos who would go on to play 13 seasons in the league and win three Super Bowls.

In Washington, McCaffrey joins a robust Commanders’ roster which includes newly drafted quarterback Jayden Daniels from LSU. He’ll step into a receiver room that includes Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and others.

McCaffrey is the first Rice player to hear his name called in the NFL Draft since Christian Covington was selected by the Houston Texans in 2015 and the first top-100 selection for the Owls since Phillip Gains was drafted by the Chiefs in 2014. He’s the Rice wide receiver drafted since Jarett Dillard was selected by the Jaguars in the fifth round in 2009 and the first Rice player drafted by Washington since Tony Barker in the 10th round of the 1992 draft.

McCaffrey was named The Roost’s Offensive Player of the Year for Rice football in back-to-back seasons, his first two years playing wide receiver at the collegiate level following a transition from quarterback. If he can excel to that degree in such a short time, the sky might truly be the limit for him at the next level.

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Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: Luke McCaffrey, Rice Football

Jose Cruz Jr. and the trajectory Rice Baseball: April 2024 Q&A

April 26, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Baseball head coach Jose Cruz Jr. has hit a rough spot midway through the 2024 season. Can he right the ship?

It’s been an up-and-down season for Rice baseball, which has only recently started to rebound after a tough stretch during the spring. As come with any stretch of defeats, questions came in regarding the future of Rice baseball and what to make of the program under head coach Jose Cruz Jr. This month’s Q&A digs into those concerns and offers some potential answers for the future of one of the Owls’ historic programs.

Questions were edited briefly for clarity. Want to get your questions answered? Subscribe on Patreon for our monthly mailbag.

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Q: I know you try to accentuate the positive and the Cruz family is a famous part of Rice baseball but can Jose Cruz, Jr. fix the Rice baseball program?

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  • The Roost Podcast | Ep 205 – 2025 Rice Football Opponent Previews: UTSA
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  • Rice Football: Summer Updated Roster Notes

Filed Under: Baseball, Featured, Premium Tagged With: Jose Cruz Jr., Rice baseball

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