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Rice Football Recruiting: DT Michael Larbie commits to Owls

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Rice Football recruiting has picked up its first transfer portal addition of the summer with the commitment of Duke defensive tackle Michael Larbie.

After the conclusion of spring practices, there were more defined marching orders for Rice football recruiting, as far as priorities go. The Owls knew what needs they had and went to work addressing them. Rice checked one of those boxes this week, picking up a commitment from Duke transfer defensive tackle Michael Larbie.

Larbie is a North Carolina native who signed with Duke before the 2019 season. He didn’t get on the field with the Blue Devils that year or during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. He made his debut in 2021, playing in the defensive line rotation for the next two seasons, amassing 11 tackles over 12 games with one TFL and half a sack.

He should serve as an experienced compliment to the Owls’ core of players on the interior consisting of De’Braylon Carroll, Izeya Floyd and Blake Boenisch. Although Rice has some young up-and-coming options at the position, getting veteran depth was a priority for this portal cycle. Larbie fits the bill.

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Even with limited playing time at Duke, Larbie’s upside is intriguing. He’ll be able to fill a more specified role with the Owls, hopefully boosting some of the traits he flashes on film.

Larbie has several reps where he showcases his ability to shed blockers and progress into the offensive backfield. That skill should only be magnified when he gets to lineup some of the Owls’ additional people-movers in the trenches. The 6-foot, 273-pound graduate should become an important piece of the rotation as soon as he’s up to speed.

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Rice Baseball 2023: MLB Owls update – May 16

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The 2023 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are busy on the mound and at the plate. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls.

J.T. Chargois – Miami Marlins

After completing a rehab assignment with the AAA team last week, Chargois was activated from the injured list on Tuesday. He had been sidelined since April 10 with a right oblique strain. Chargois has yet to appear in a game with the Marlins quite yet, but he’s finally back with the big league club after more than a month away.

Through May 16, Chargois has a 0.00 ERA with a 0.000 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

Injured List

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon’s recent hot streak at the plate was put on hold this week when he was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 14 with a left groin strain. That’ll keep him out of commission for the next week or so at least.

Through May 16, Rendon is hitting .283 with four extra-base hits, 19 walks and 14 strikeouts. His OPS is .763 and he’s collected 19 RBI.

Lucas Luetge – Atlanta Braves

Luetge began a rehab assignment with the Braves’ AA affiliate on Tuesday. If all goes well, he’ll be in line to return to the big league club after a couple of rehab appearances. He hasn’t pitched in a game for the Braves since April 12.

Through May 16, Luetge has an 8.10 ERA with a 1.800 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Glenn Otto – Texas Rangers

Otto did not appear on the Rangers Opening Day roster despite making 27 starts for the club last season. Instead, he began the year on the injured list, landing on the 60-day IL on March 30 with a right shoulder strain. He will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

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Rice Baseball powers past PVAMU, gets final midweek win

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Rice baseball roared out to a big lead against Prairie View A&M at home and held on to win their final midweek game of the season.

Even with a short rain delay pushing back the first pitch, it didn’t take long to for Rice baseball to make their presence known in their final midweek game of the 2023 season. A week removed from knocking off Houston 13-7, the Owls kept the offensive fireworks alive with a four-run first, three-run second, two-run third and a one-run fourth inning.

Rice surpassed double-digits in the hits column before the end of the third inning. By the time the fifth inning was in the books, six of the seven starters had multiple hits and all but two had either scored or driven in a run themselves.

Last Time Out: Bats stifled as Rice Baseball swept by WKU

On the mound, Garret Zaskoda was charged with a pair of runs in 2.1 innings, giving way in the third inning to a string of various bullpen arms that held the Owls’ advantage. Jack Ben-Shoshan lower his season-long ERA to 3.24. following a 1.2-inning scoreless outing.

The best bullpen outing was had by Krishna Raj, who bounces back from a tough weekend appearance with a flawless three innings, striking out five without allowing any hits.

What it means | The bats work!

Against UTSA, Rice scored 7 runs, 8 runs and 6 runs. Then they hung 13 on Houston. A tough weekend against the plate against WKU — who leads the league with a 3,52 ERA in conference games — looked to have erased most of that offensive momentum. However, Tuesday’s 18-run outburst proved the bats might still have some juice left to share. A season-high 23 hits echoed that hopeful tune.

The Owls’ upcoming opponent, FIU, ranks dead last in conference play with a staggering 7.35 ERA. The Praire View A&M staff entered Tuesday night with a 7.11 season-long ERA. If Rice can put up runs in bunches against this staff, they should be able to score this weekend in a do-or-die series.

ON DECK | vs FIU (Thr-Sat)

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Rice Baseball swept by WKU, extending Owls’ C-USA slump

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Rice Baseball was swept for the third consecutive weekend, this time falling in three games to Western Kentucky on the road.

FRIDAY | WKU 5  – Rice 4 (10 inn.)

Rice baseball ace Parker Smith was met with a forceful greeting on Friday night in Bowling Green, allowing four runs in the first two innings, more than he typically allows over the course of a full start. Even with the rocky beginning, though, Smith settled in and was able to pitch into the eighth, allowing no further runs as he waited for the offense to arrive.

Last Time Out: Rice baseball snaps losing skid with win over Houston

The Owls got on the board for the first time in the fifth, using three doubles to score three runs, followed a frame later by a solo home run from Drew Holderbach to even the score. Smith left without a decision, but the game was within reach. He had done his job. Justin Long would be less fortunate. He pitched a scoreless remainder of the eighth and a flawless ninth before WKU walked it off against him in the tenth.

SATURDAY | WKU 10 – Rice 2

With JD McCracken on the bump, Rice and WKU moved quickly through a pitching-centric game in the early goings on Saturday. Both starters had allowed just one run through four innings and it wasn’t until McCracken ran into some trouble in the fifth that the bats on either side began to wake up. McCracken would battle through another two innings, leaving in the seventh in a one-rune game.

Jack Ben-Shoshan was called upon for just one batter — he walked him — before handing the ball to Krishna Raj. That would turn out to be a fateful decision. Raj was handed the disservice of entering the game with the bases loaded an no outs, but he was pelted to the tune of seven runs (four charged to him) as Rice fell behind 10-2. That would be the eventual final score.

SUNDAY | WKU 5 – Rice 2

Rice struck first in the finale on a Guy Garibay RBI single in the top of the second, but the lead was short-lived. WKU took the lead back in the bottom of the inning, scoring twice. The Hilltoppers added single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to cautiously extender their advantage. Much of those insurance runs would prove unneeded.

Jack Riedel, who saw his 16-game hit streak snapped, delivered an RBI groundout in the top of the seventh, scoring the Owls’ only other run of the afternoon. Rice simply had no answer for WKU hurler Dawson Hall who earned the win with six innings of one-run ball, tallying as many strikeouts (five) as hits allowed.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball couldn’t afford to be swept this weekend, but they were handed three-straight losses nonetheless. Here are three takeaways from a tough weekend on the road.

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1. Fast start fizzles again

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ON DECK | vs PVAMU (Tues), vs FIU (Thr-Sat)

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2023 April Window AAC Transfer Portal Updates

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The spring transfer window closed for non-graduates at the end of April and there were several late entrants for incoming and outgoing AAC squads.

Not every AAC football team was impacted in a significant way by the transfer portal over the past few weeks, but some experienced significant departures. Here are five names worth mentioning as they prepare to exit their respective programs.

RB Alton McCaskill, Houston

Houston won’t be an AAC member for much longer, but the Cougars face several incoming and outgoing AAC squads in 2023 and will have to do so without Alton McCaskill, arguably their most talented offensive player. McCaskill rushed for 961 yards and 16 touchdowns as a true freshman before missing last season with an injury. Colorado is rumored to be a potential landing spot.

WR Zakhari Franklin, UTSA

The go-to target for the Roadrunners, Franklin was another shocking late entrant to the portal. He set the single-season program records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns as a junior in 2021 and then broke his own program records for those same measures in 2022.  UTSA will still return Joshua Cephus and De’Corian Clark, but Franklin is a massive loss.

WR Jyaire Shorter, North Texas

Shorter has run into some bad luck on the injury front in 2020 and 2021, but when healthy, remains a dynamic playmaker. He led the FBS in yards per reception last season (27.2 yards per catch) and figured to be the top target for the Mean Green in 2023. That will no longer be the case. Auburn is rumored to be a potential landing spot.

LB Larry Nixon III, North Texas

A multi-year starter for North Texas, Nixon posted double-digit tackles in three of his final four games with the Mean Green and leaves Denton with 246 career tackles. He was offered be Auburn and Miami soon after entering the portal.

CB Jadon Canady, Tulane

Canady was a starter in 2021 and the early portions of the 2022 campaign before an ACL injury ended his season prematurely. He might not be fully 100 percent to begin the 2023 season, but he’s still a quality player with extensive experience, more than 1,200 snaps over the past two years.

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