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Rice Football Recruiting: What to expect from 2025 National Signing Day

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The 2025 Rice Football Recruiting class is essentially complete with the bulk of the outstanding pledges putting pen to paper on National Signing Day.

National Signing Day is Wednesday, February 5. As we did during the Early Signing Period, we’ll have a Live Blog up and running with updates throughout the day. If you’re not a subscriber, now’s a reminder that you can get access to the latest live Rice news and analysis, a full lineup of current commits and signees and more.

This is normally the part where I’d post an updated snapshot of the Owls’ recruiting ranking and compare it to the program’s standard and the conference. With the continued growth of the Transfer Portal, mainstream recruiting websites have all but given up on maintaining most G5 team lists, at least until classes are finalized this week.

It’s impossible to say where the Owls’ compare right now given most services have less than half the Owls’ current class listed. The Roost’s offer and commitment tracker remains the best place to find this information.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

What Happened Since the Early Signing Period

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Rice Football Recruiting: DL Luca Akirtava commits to Owls

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One of the finishing touches to the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class is officially on board. Defensive lineman Luca Akirtava has committed to the Owls.

National Signing Day is days and the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class is nearly complete. Before the bulk of the remaining members put pen to paper on Wednesday, though, the Owls have added one more difference maker to their haul. Defensive lineman Luca Akirtava has committed to the Owls.

When head coach Scott Abell arrived on South Main, Akirtava was expected to be available. The Reedy high school product had originally signed with Arkansas State in December before a shakeup in the Red Wolves coaching staff opened the door for Akirtava to explore other options. He seized that chance, reopening his commitment, eventually landing at South Main.

Before he committed, Akirtava piqued the interest of programs across the state, garnering offers from North Texas, Texas State and UTEP as well as out-of-state programs like Arkansas State, UMass, Washington State and others.

The addition of Akirtava gives the Owls a solid base in the defensive trenches. He joins high school signee Rob Rooks as well as transfers Dillan Botts (Mary Hardin-Baylor) and Ejike Adele (Dartmouth).

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Akirtava is a fun watch on film. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound defender can line up at several spots up and down the line, a level of versatility which will suit him well in the Owls’ defensive scheme. Adding pass rushers like this is always a good call.

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Rice Basketball drops thriller to Memphis

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Time ran out on Rice basketball on Sunday afternoon as the Owls came up short in a hard-fought battle against Memphis inside a packed Tudor Fieldhouse.

Rice basketball knew they’d have their hands full on Sunday afternoon when a ranked Memphis team came to Tudor Fieldhouse, but the efficiency and potency of the Tigers’ opening burst had the Owls straining to hold on from the opening tip. Jacob Dar gave Rice a one-point lead with an opportunistic put-back plus the ensuing and-one play before Memphis thrust their foot onto the accelerator.

Memphis outscored Rice 22-11 over the next seven minutes. The Owls weren’t lose with the ball and they shot it at a respectable clip during that stretch but the Tigers had the edge on the boards and made 4-of-5 from three to open the contest and jump out to a quick double-digit advantage. Then it was the Owls’ turn.

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

Fueled by tenacious defense and superb movement with the ball, Rice ripped off 11 straight to retake the lead, capped off with a three from Andrew Akuchie that sent the arena into a frenzy. Just like that, the game was on. While Memphis did jump back into the lead, Rice kept pace, heading into halftime within five points of the No. 19 team in the country.

The constant tension would continue into the second half. Rice would pull back within a score only for Memphis to find some breathing room. But even when the result looked to be in hand, Rice kept fighting. Down eight with 40 seconds to play, the Owls went on a 7-0 run to get the game back within one with 11.8 to play. Memphis prevailed with a last second steal, but not before Rice gave them a full 40 minute fight.

Final Box | Memphis 86, Rice 83

Key takeaway | Arrow Up

It’s hard to look favorably at a team that’s lost seven consecutive games, but it would he foolish to discard the effort Rice basketball displayed on Sunday. The last time the Owls played a team anywhere close to this caliber they lost by 22 at North Texas. That team looked disjointed and, at times, lost. The Rice squad that showed up against Memphis looked ready, composed and fierce.

“We’ve had plenty of reasons to have self doubt and all that and the fact that against a good team that was playing well — it’s one thing if a team comes in here and they’re missing all their shots and they’re shooting in the low 30s — they came in and played like a Top 25 team,” head coach Rob Lanier said. “I was hoping we could catch them on a bad day. They don’t seem to be having many of those. It’s a credit to them and their coaching staff that they’re playing at a high level.”

“They played at a high level today and we were right there with them.”

Memphis won on the boards, had more assists and led for more than 38 minutes. All of that, and still this game hung in the balance with seconds to go.

“We kind of displayed what we have in us, which is good. Sometimes when you’re struggling you can forget that you’re good. If girls keep turning you down, you might forget that you’re handsome. It’s important for these guys to believe in themselves, regardless of what’s going on,” Lanier said. “I thought today was a good exhibition of that.”

In many respects, this was one of the better games Rice basketball has played. The losses count and the dearth of negative results over the past month has significantly muted this team’s upside when it comes to regular season results. However, it’s hard to look at this most recent version of Rice basketball and discount them as a worthy opponent against any team remaining on their schedule.

Up Next: at East Carolina (Wed, Feb. 5)

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Rice Women’s Basketball stumbles at FAU

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Rice Women’s Basketball saw another fourth quarter go sideways on the road, losing to an FAU squad that entered the game at the bottom of the AAC standings.

Things certainly got off on the right foot for Rice women’s basketball on Saturday afternoon. Dominque Ennis connected on three three-pointers in the first quarter to give the Owls a lead on the road against Florida Atlantic. Buoyed by some timely baskets from Sussy Ngulefac, Rice kept pace with FAU in what turned into a physical, low-scoring affair.

FAU took its first lead in the second quarter and led for the third, but every time it looked as if the lead might get away from Rice, someone came through with a clutch bucket to will the game back within reach. That was true up until a 7-point FAU run to close the frame that put the home team up by eight and threw Rice onto the ropes.

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

Rice never led again after that point, ceding a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter that effectively put the game on ice. Rice would answer with an 8-0 run of their own, but the clock was not on their side. Rice would love by five in another game that got away from them late.

Final Box | FAU 66, Rice 61

Key takeaway | Consistently inconsistent

It’s hard to say exactly which version of Rice women’s basketball will hit the court next. At their best, they’ve contended with some quality teams. When things go poorly, games like this happen. FAU entered this game 1-8 in league play and four games below .500. Any way you slice it, this is one of the worst teams in the conference. But they just beat Rice.

And yet the game followed what is now a maddening, consistent formula. Rice battled an opponent tight for three quarters — it was a one-point game with 4:02 left in the third — only to faulter in the fourth and hang another loss on their ledger.

We’ve started to assemble a material body of work on this season and until otherwise, this might just be what this team is. When the three doesn’t fall — Rice shot 30.8 percent from deep — this offense is lethargic, at best, and their chances of winning plummet.

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

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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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