The source for Rice sports news

Rice Baseball: 2021 MLB Owls update – April 24

By

The 2021 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 from this week.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon has been out since April 10 with a strained groin. Reports indicate he could be back in the lineup at some point early next week, but no date has been set in stone just yet.

Through April 24, Rendon is hitting .290 with one extra-base hit, five walks and seven strikeouts. His OPS is .765.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey’s saw a bit of extra rest after a tough outing last week, but came back strong. He threw two innings this week, striking out two, walking two and allowing no runs. He picked up his second hold of the season in the process.

Through April 24, Duffey has a 3.00 ERA with a 1.833 WHIP. He’s averaging 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Texas Rangers

Holt strung together a couple of sturdy games in his first week back from the injured list. He’s upped his average by more than 50 points while holding down the third base spot as well as one pinch-hit appearance, his first of the season.

Through April 24, Holt has seven hits in 26 at bats, a .269 average. He’s walked seven times, struck out six times and collected three RBI.

Lucas Luetege – New York Yankees

It was a big week for Luetege, who picked up his first major league win since Sep. 4, 2013, when he was with the Seattle Marines. This time around Luetege was called upon against the Indians, striking out one and walking one in 1.1 innings.

Along the way, Luetege has limited hard contact. Following his Friday win, Luetege led all of baseball in the lowest average exit velocity against.

Through April 24, Luetge has a 4.97 ERA with a 1.263 WHIP. He’s averaging 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

BREAKING: Rice Women’s Basketball hires Lindsay Edmonds as head coach

By

Rice Women’s Basketball has named former NC State assistant Lindsay Edmonds as its new head coach, the school announced on Friday.

On April 6, athletic director Joe Karlgaard met with the media to discuss the recently vacated Rice women’s basketball head coaching position. At the time, Karlgaard prognosticated a national search would begin imminently and wind down somewhere between “between 10 and 20 days.” He also alluded to a wider candidate pool given the timing of the search, including prospective coaches coming off NCAA Tournament runs.

Sure enough, with a few days remaining in that prescribed window, Rice has their new coach. On Friday the Owls announced the hiring of now-former NC State assistant head coach Lindsay Edmonds.

Edmonds joins Rice after seven seasons with the NC State, six as an assistant before being elevated to associate head coach prior to the 2019-2020 season. She helped lead the Wolfpack to Sweet 16 appearances in 2018, 2019 and 2021, three consecutive seasons in which the NCAA Tournament was held. Along the way, Edmonds aided multiple WNBA draft selections, including 2014 first-round selection Markeisha Gatling.

Rice could have gone in several different directions with this hire. They opted to follow a course charted previously by Karlgaard prior to the 2015 season when he hired now-former head coach Tina Langley, scooping her away from an extremely successful Maryland program while she was an assistant.

There’s no surefire way to guarantee following a similar method will work in successive hires, but there are no doubting Edmonds credentials as she arrives.

Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard had this to say about Edmonds’ arrival: “Lindsay Edmonds stood out among a very talented pool in our coaching search,” Karlgaard said. “She has the experience and track record we are looking for to continue the recent success of our program and build upon it. Everywhere Lindsay has coached, she has won. Her student-athletes have excelled in the classroom and in the community. I’m excited for her to lead the next chapter of Rice women’s basketball.”

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football: 2021 ESPN FPI not kind to Owls

By

The 2021 ESPN FPI projections are out. Where did Rice football finish and how much stock should we put in these estimations?

ESPN recently released its 2021 Football Power Index (FPI), a statistic geared toward predicting team performance. Rice football (-11.7 FPI) checked in No. 11 in Conference USA, ahead of only UTEP (-20.1) in the West Division. On the opposite end of the spectrum, UAB and Marshall were the frontrunners.

2021 ESPN FPI

  1. UAB, 4.1
  2. Marshall, -3.9
  3. UTSA, -5.3
  4. WKU, -7.4
  5. FAU, -7.6
  6. MTSU, -8.9
  7. Southern Miss, -10.1
  8. LA Tech, -10.5
  9. Charlotte, -11
  10. North Texas, -11.4
  11. Rice, -11.7
  12. FIU, -17.9
  13. UTEP, -20.1
  14. ODU, -26.8

Looking Closer

Despite the poor rank, FPI considers Rice to be a fringe bowl team. The numbers peg the Owls with a projected win-loss record of 4.8 – 7.2, essentially putting them a game away from a bowl berth. FPI gives Rice a 31.3 percent chance to reach that threshold. If they did, it would mean the first six-win season for the program since 2014.

The numbers look a bit peculiar, though, when compared to last season. Rice had an FPI of -6.7 in 2020, five full points higher than their -11.7 mark this year. That drop represents the largest in the conference, only superseded by Marshall who fell from 2.0 to -3.9, still a significant margin ahead of the Owls.

On the surface, that steep drop seems hard to defend. Rice loses Mike Collins, Austin Trammell and Blaze Alldredge from the starting ranks this year, but only had Alldredge for the bulk of last season to begin with.

The defense should be just as good, if not better. The offense must solve the quarterback question (again), but gets back a wide receiving corps that missed virtually all of 2020. From that standpoint, Rice would seem close to level footing with where they left off. Ultimately, the proof will be in the product on the field.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football 2021 Spring Ball Review: Quarterback

By

Finding a quarterback remains at the top of the Rice football to-do list. Here’s what we learned in the pivotal position battle this spring.

Quarterback is the most important position in football. It’s also been the most challenging spot for Rice football to solidify over the past several seasons. With Mike Collins departed, there’s a real Rice will start a different quarterback in their season opener in 2021, marking the sixth consecutive year with a different QB1 on opening day following a multi-year run by Driphus Jackson in 2014 and 2015.

Rather than dwell on history, the Owls need answers. Here’s what we learned about the most important position battle of the spring, including a best guess at how things will look entering the fall.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

The Roost has you covered from the start to end of spring practice and takeaways still to come. Subscribers get access to all spring practice notes, recruiting updates and special features. Subscribe on Patreon and get access to it all today.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Soccer 2021: Owls set for NCAA Tournament run

By

Rice soccer is NCAA Tournament bound. After winning the Conference USA Tournament, the Owls now have their opponent and destination set.

For the fifth time in program history, Rice soccer is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The Owls formally punched their ticket on Saturday, defeating Charlotte at Holloway Field to secure Conference USA’s automatic bid. The victory capped off a tremendous regular season for the Owls, who one-upped the preseason polls, which tabbed them to finish second in the West.

Rice landed four players on the All-Tournament team, led by tournament Offensive MVP Delaney Schultz and Defensive MVP Mijke Roelfsema. Caleigh Boeckx and Rebecca Keane were also honored.

The tournament accolades served as subtle reminders of the Owls’ progress this season. Prior to the start of the week, Rice earned a No. 25 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Everything seemed to be coming together at the right time.

With the hard work done, Rice soccer waited over the weekend to find out who and where they’ll be playing next. Complete brackets were announced on Monday.

Rice will face Furman in the first round, the alma mater of current Owls’ head coach Brian Lee. The game is scheduled for Wednesday, April 28 at 3 p.m. The winner will advance to play 5-Seed West Virginia.

In light of COVID-19 concerns, all tournament games will take place in the state of North Carolina this year. Local universities like Campbell, East Carolina, UNC Wilmington, UNC Greensboro and Wake Forest will serve as host sites with additional off-campus facilities available as well. The Tournament kicks off on April 27 and will run through the national championship game on May 17.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts