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Rice Baseball: Under the radar players? — February Patreon Q&A

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There are a lot of new names on the 2023 Rice baseball roster. Which ones are going to make the biggest impact on the diamond this year?

There was a lot of activity surrounding Rice baseball over the offseason. The playing surface and Reckling Park was redone and a compliment of new players was added to the team, several of which have received buzz during the fall and the leadup to the 2023 season. Which of those anticipated debuts will bring with it the biggest boom? We dig into that question in this month’s Patreon Q&A.

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BREAKING: Rice Football reschedules future game with LSU

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Breaking News: The Roost has learned that Rice Football and LSU have agreed to reschedule their upcoming game, which will now take place in 2029.

Originally scheduled to be played on September 7, 2024, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Rice football and LSU have rescheduled their upcoming contest. The game will now be played on September 29, 2029 instead, The Roost has learned.

The game in question was agreed upon in 2016 as part of a multi-game agreement, in which Rice was meant to host LSU at NRG Stadium in 2020 with a return game at LSU in 2024. The 2020 game was nixed because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The 2024 game has now been moved.

LSU and Rice last played in 2018, a game the Tigers won in Baton Rouge by a final score of 42-10. Before that, the two schools had not met on the gridiron since 1995. Prior to that, the teams had been almost every year from the 1930s until the early 1980s with LSU winning 11 of the last 12 contests.

The change gives Rice some flexibility in non-conference scheduling moving forward. With the exception of the 2023 schedule, which is already full with four games (at Texas, vs Houston, vs Texas Southern, vs UConn), Rice football doesn’t have more than two agreed-upon contests in any future season.

Rice now has two games remaining on its 2024 schedule, both at home. They’ll host Sam Houston on August 31, 2024 and host Army on October 5, 2024. In 2029, Rice now has two non-conference games scheduled. They’ll play the aforementioned game at LSU as well as a home game against Northwestern, set for September 8, 2029.

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Rice Baseball: Anticipation, expectations rise for Owls in Year 2 with Jose Cruz Jr

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Rice baseball brings renewed vigor and elevated expectations into the 2023 season, the Owls’ second under head coach Jose Cruz Jr.

For a program with the storied history that Rice baseball has, it’s been a tough few years. And while the term “rebuilding” isn’t one the Owls would want to be associated with their brand, that’s essentially what last season was for this program.

New head coach Jose Cruz Jr. brought passion and a modern vantage point on the game of baseball. He reinvigorated the fan base and helped paved the way for a new playing surface at Reckling Park, which remains one of the most beautiful venues in the sport. There was a lot of good that happened during the 2022 season, but the actual results on the diamond were lacking.

“Last year, we didn’t win as many games as we wanted to,” junior outfielder Guy Garibay said. “We’re coming into this year with a bad taste in our mouth and we’re out to win.”

Rice baseball finished 17-39 in Cruz Jr.’s inaugural season at the helm and 9-21 in conference play. Two of their three series wins (over Marshall and over FIU) came on the road. Taking two of three at home against Western Kentucky was their best home series of the season.

Deadset on rising up from that slow start, the Owls embarked on a focused offseason with a clear directive. Rice hired a new pitching coach, Parker Bangs, and spent a significant amount of time and effort with their pitchers in the Pigpen Pitching Lab. They retooled their roster with key transfer additions and several talented incoming freshmen.

“We feel that as a staff we’ve challenged ourselves to be as prepared and as cutting-edge as we can possibly be when it comes to baseball,” Cruz Jr., said. “We’ve created a lot of things and a lot of support for our guys to succeed and we’re looking forward to seeing it happen on the field.”

Rice was picked to finish eighth in the 10-team league by conference head coaches this season. Newcomer Dallas Baptist got four first-place votes. The Owls did not receive any, nor were they honored with any individual players on the preseason all-conference team.

Cruz Jr. was undeterred. “We’re trying to win as many games as possible. We’re coming into every game thinking we’re going to win,” he said. “I don’t think outside of here expectations are very high but we have high expectations for what we can accomplish.”

Beyond general optimism, Cruz Jr. is confident because he’s tuned into the roster and recognizes the journey that his players have been on to get to this point. “Nobody is the same,” he recalled, comparing the growth he’s seen from his players from last year to this year. He was particularly adamant about the pitching progress, singling out guys like Parker Smith on the mound.

The Owls’ season gets underway on Friday, February 17 with the start of a three-game slate against Louisiana. The first pitch of the opener is set for 6:30 p.m.

** Photo: Maria Lysaker **
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The Roost Podcast | Ep 139 – Rice Football 2023 Signing Day and Roster Evals

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National Signing Day is in the books and the 2023 Rice football is starting to take shape. We break it all down in this week’s show.

Three new players were announced on National Singing Day, bringing the 2023 Rice Football class to 27 official additions with a few more coming down the road. With the class more or less finished, we take a look at the group and evaluate the roster entering the spring, taking things position by position.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 139.

Episode Notes

Housekeeping

  • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
  • Thank you to Bob Schlager and Chris Warren, our newest Booster Tier patrons.
  • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes practice updates, analysis and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better.
    Become a Patron!

2023 Rice Football National Signing Day and Roster Recap

  • CB coach Gerard Wilcher accepts head coaching job at Morehouse College
  • Reviewing the three new additions plus one additional commitment
    • OL Lavell Dumont
    • P/K Reese Keeney
    • LS Wyatt Freeman
    • WR Matt Sykes
  • Evaluating the roster as a whole. Which position groups are we the most confident in? Which groups have the most question marks entering the spring?

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Basketball: Still searching for consistency and recurring “A-game”

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An up-and-down Rice Basketball season marches on. Where do the Owls stand and what do they need to do to finish strong?

The story of the 2022-2023 Rice basketball season takes more than two games to tell, but the juxtaposition of the Owls’ dominant win on the road against North Texas on January 19 against a frustrating 10-point loss to the same squad at home 16 days later more or less sums up the kind of year it’s been for the Owls on the court.

At their best, they can hang with the league’s upper tier. But they’re not at their best every night, and therein lies the problem and the questions, many of which remain unanswered.

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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.

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?
Photo credit: Maria Lysaker
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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