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Rice Baseball: Owls ready for unique 2021 season

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The schedule is strange. Rosters are deep. But more than anything, Rice baseball wants to get back onto the field as soon as they can.

Almost a year removed from an abridged 16-game season, Rice baseball is ready to give it another go. The Owls had barely begun conference play last spring when COVID-19 brought a swift halt to their season. The ripple effects from that strenuous week are still being felt.

The most notable deviation from “normal” will be the 42 players listed on the roster this season. In a typical year, rosters are capped at 35 individuals. Rice will have seven more this season, primarily composed of seniors who believed their last year of college baseball was going to wrap up last summer. Veterans like Braden Comeaux, Cade Edwards and Bradley Gneiting will don pinstripes for one more ride.

Head coach Matt Bragga is excited about the depth, which along with an influx of talent, should help him navigate this team to a better season than last year’s shortened start. But his optimism don’t stop at the walls of Reckling Park. In his estimate, “this should be one of the best years in the history of college baseball.”

The MLB Draft was shortened from 40 rounds to five rounds. Roster limitations have been suspended for the season. Every roster has more talent, more weapons, than they thought they’d have before the pandemic arrived. Now each team will have to make the best of it that they can.

“We’re anxious to get back out,” Bragga said, “I really like this crew. The product continues to get better, as it should.”

The return to action includes a revised schedule with less distanced travel and a few interesting twists. There are less midweek games. When conference play arrives on March 26 they’ll play just one team outside of C-USA.

Conference weekends will look different too. Rather than the standard Friday to Sunday three-game slate, there will be four games played each weekend, with a Saturday doubleheader of seven-inning games injected to increase the chances of playing as many games as possible. Bragga wanted four full nine-inning games but was in the minority

Whether it’s three-game weekends or four, Bragga just wants to get back onto the grass.  “I don’t like being judged on 28% of a season,” he said, recalling a disappointing 2020 start. He and the Owls will have their chance in a few short weeks. Opening Day against Arkansas Little Rock is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 19. Stay tuned for future updates on the pitching staff and the lineup.

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Is the Transfer Portal bad news for Rice Football? All-American Q&A

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All-American Level subscribers on Patreon get access to a monthly Q&A with me. This update focuses on Rice football and the Transfer Portal.

Q. Losing Blaze Alldredge to the portal came out of nowhere. Did Rice ever have a chance to keep Blaze? Or is Rice going to be a stepping stone to get to Power 5 programs?

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A. There are really two separate questions embedded into one theme, so I’ll address each separately. First, on Blaze. From the moment the final whistle sounded against UAB I was under the impression his Rice career was finished…

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Rice Football: Owls’ announce 2021 football schedule

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The 2021 Rice Football scheduled has been released. If all goes according to plan, we now know when and where the Owls will play this fall.

The offseason is moving quickly as teams across the country progress toward what will hopefully be a more convention season next fall. Players are returning to campus, including some key members of the Rice football senior class ($), and schedules are being released.

Today marks the announcement of the 2021 Rice Football schedule. It features four non-conference matchups and eight Conference USA games. The Owls will have six home games and six road games.

2021 Rice Football schedule

  • at Arkansas – Sept. 4
  • vs Houston – Sept. 11
  • at Texas – Sept. 18
  • vs Texas Southern – Sept. 25
  • vs Southern Miss – Oct. 2
  • at UTSA – Oct. 16
  • at UAB – Oct. 23
  • vs North Texas – Oct. 30
  • at Charlotte – Nov. 6
  • vs WKU – Nov. 13
  • at UTEP – Nov. 20
  • vs Louisiana Tech – Nov. 27
  • Conference USA Championship Game – Dec. 4

The non-conference slate will be challenging. Rice visits Arkansas on Sep. 4 and Texas on Sept. 18, the only Power 5 opponents on the schedule. Rice last visited Austin in 2015 but hasn’t played the Razorbacks home or away since 1991. The Owls also plan to resume the Bayou Bucket rivaly against Houston. Last year’s meeting was postponed.

Rice draws Charlotte and Western Kentucky as their East Division opponents. The Owls’ are 2-0 against Charlotte all-time and 0-2 against Western Kentucky.

The 2020 Rice Football scheduled fluctuated several times because of COVID-19 postponements and cancelations. First came the cancellation of the non-conference slate. Then adjustments to the Owls’ start date. Once the season began, three different games were postponed by the Owls’ opponents. Rice would end the season with just five of their originally 12 scheduled games completed.

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Rice Soccer: Owls ready for 2021 spring season

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Rice Soccer was one of the sports bumped from fall to spring because of COVID-19 concerns. After a long layoff, the Owls are ready to get rolling. Here’s everything you need to know.

This past offseason has been one like no other for Rice soccer head coach Brian Lee and his team. For one there were no games played before Christmas, an oddity for what is traditionally a fall sport. For another, the vast majority of his team was on campus and ready to play.

Aside from one incoming freshman from England, Catarina Albuquerque, whose arrival was delayed with the unfortunate circumstances, the remainder of the freshman class has been on campus since the fall semester began. “The rest of our freshmen, as part of this delayed season, they don’t feel like freshmen the same way they would in the fall.” Lee said, “Those kids who are back with us, they feel like sophomores already.”

They’ll need all the capable options they can get if they’re going to navigate a shrunken season with the chance for postponed games and last-minute changes. One notable addition was recently announced, Serena Pham, a transfer from Alabama. While in Tuscaloosa, Pham she recorded the most assists by a freshman in school history. She’ll sit this spring but be eligible to play in the fall.

Notable games

Rice Soccer opens its season with an exhibition against Houston at Holloway Field on Jan. 30. After one tune-up game, the condensed season begins with a road trip to face McNeese State on Feb. 4.

Rice is scheduled to face UTSA twice, Houston once more in a regulation game, and five additional Conference USA opponents. Consecutive weekend games against HBU and Texas Southern (twice), round up the schedule, which finishes at home on Apr. 8 against UTEP.

The Conference USA Tournament, hosted by Rice, begins on Apr. 13. You can see the complete schedule here.

Preseason C-USA Poll

Rice was picked to finish second in the West, runners up to a North Texas program that knocked the Owls out of the conference tournament last season before going on to win it all. Here is the complete poll:

West Division
  1. North Texas
  2. Rice
  3. UTSA
  4. Louisiana Tech
  5. UTEP
  6. UAB
  7. Southern Miss
East Division
  1. Florida Atlantic
  2. Charlotte
  3. WKU
  4. Middle Tennessee
  5. Marshall
  6. FIU
  7. Old Dominion

Preseason All C-USA Team selections

Mijke Roelfsema and Delaney Schultz were both honored as preseason All-Conference selections. Rice was one of three teams with multiple selections. FAU (two selections) and North Texas (three selections) also received multiple nods. Here is the complete team:

  • Ambere Barnett, WKU
  • Kelsey Brann, North Texas
  • Allie Byrd, North Texas
  • Luisa Daikeler, FAU
  • Peyton DePriest, Middle Tennessee
  • Julia Patrum, Charlotte
  • Ellis Patterson, UTSA
  • Berklee Peters, North Texas
  • Caitlin Pierce, Southern Miss
  • Mijke Roelfsema, Rice
  • Delaney Schultz, Rice
  • Cassidy Wasdin, FAU
  • Autumn Woodard, Louisiana Tech

Offseason notes:

Rice Soccer was featured in part of our extended offseason showcase, featuring stories about the growth of the program under coach Lee, which players could step up in the future and how Rice is using the Transfer Portal to their advantage. You can check those five pieces out here.

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Rice Basketball: Shorthanded Owls drop pair vs UAB

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Rice basketball had to reach deep into the bench for a two-game set against UAB but walked away with their first winless weekend of the season.

Rice basketball started the season remarkably well, 10-5 after their first 15 games. Tied for the most wins in the West entering the weekend, the Owls had a chance to seize outright control of first place in the West with a strong showing against division-leading UAB this weekend. Rice trade blows with the UAB in both games, but it was the Blazers who threw the last punch in both contests.

It was an up-and-down weekend for the Owls from start to finish. Both teams seesawed back in forth in both games. Rice made the first shot in the opener before UAB went on an 11-0 run. The Owls immediately responded with a 17-6 run of their own.

Trailing by nine at the break, the rallies continued. Rice went on a 12-0 run. Minutes later, UAB punched back with their own 12-0. That rally proved to be the decider, giving the Blazers enough breathing room to earn the game one win.

The second game was more of the same. Rice fell behind 18-7 early on. Less than five minutes later, they led 21-20. Then it was a 31-30 Rice advantage the collapsed into a 50-39 UAB lead at the halftime buzzer only for Rice to explode out of halftime on a 13-3 run. Once more, UAB had an answer, pulling away once again and holding on for the duration.

Quincy Olivari led the team in scoring in both games, dropping 17 points on Friday and another 21 points on Saturday. No other players tallied double-digit points in both games, but Max Fiedler corralled 19 total rebounds over the course of the weekend.

Player Spotlight | Mylyjael Poteat

A freshman from North Carolina, the 6-foot-9, 260-pound Poteat had played in three of the Owls’ first 15 games before the series against UAB where he appeared in both contests. He played in 15 minutes on Friday and 14 minutes on Saturday, both higher than his 10 total minutes played across his first three collegiate games.

Poteat scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He had two blocks and saw a fair amount of success on the inside, giving Rice a physical presence at the rim. He was ready when his number was called, and the Owls needed every minute he provided.

Stat Corner | Three players tripled their average minutes Saturday

Travis Evee wasn’t available this weekend, forcing the Owls to turn to their bench for more minutes than they typically would. Chris Mullins was nicked up on Friday and did not play in Saturday’s game. Ege Havsa did not play Saturday either. That left Rice with a lot of minutes to fill on Saturday.

  • Jake Lieppert entered the weekend averaging 8.0 minutes per game (eight games). He played 30 minutes on Saturday
  • Cameron Sheffield’s playing time went from 8.9 minutes to 35 minutes
  • Mylyjael Poteat’s playing time went from 3.3 minutes to 14 minutes

Payton Moore was two minutes shy of double his per game average, playing 21 minutes compared to his typical 11.5 minutes.

To rely on so many reserves and still put up a puncher’s chance is an encouraging sign. Had Rice had its full complement of players, they probably would have split this series — and they almost managed to get there anyway.

Up Next

The Owls’ upcoming series is somewhat of an oddity this season. Rather than a Friday/Saturday back-to-back at the same local, Rice will play North Texas on Thursday in Houston and Saturday in Denton. It’s the only scheduled series to take place in two different venues this season. North Texas did not play this past weekend. Their scheduled series against Old Dominion was postponed.

📸 @LysakerPhotos
January 15, 2021 : during the game between the ODU Monarchs and the Rice Owls at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas. Rice wins 69-59 (Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics). Used with permission.
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