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BREAKING: Jose Cruz Jr to be named Owls Rice baseball head coach

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A fan-favorite and productive player for the Owls many years ago, Rice baseball is expected to hire Jose Cruz Jr. as their next head coach.

A little more than two weeks from the start of their search, Rice baseball has a new head coach. The Owls will tab Jose Cruz Jr. to run their program.

Rice had options when it came to its coaching search. The Owls could have sought out an established assistant and were linked to some noteworthy candidates in recent weeks. Instead, Rice will return to its roots. Cruz. Jr checks both boxes given his relationship with the program’s past and present as well as experience playing and coaching at the highest levels.

Cruz Jr. returns to South Main where he first made his name for himself on the diamond. A three-time All-American with the Owls, Cruz Jr. went on to be selected as the No. 3 overall pick in the 1995 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. He went on  to play for several teams in his 12 year MLB career, spending most of his time with the Toronto Blue Jays.

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He most recently accepted a job as a hitting coach with the Detroit Tigers in December of 2020 where his son, Trei Cruz, was recently selected as a third round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.

In addition to his time as a player at Rice, Cruz Jr. has been a fixture around Reckling Park in recent seasons. His sons Trei and Antonio Cruz were both members of the Owls’ team in recent seasons, giving Cruz Jr. ample reason to frequent campus and stay in touch with the program that he’ll now take over full time.

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Conference USA Football: Unpacking the Transfer Portal in 2021

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Each Conference USA Football program has approached the Transfer Portal in different ways. Here’s the latest snapshot following the 2021 class.

The Transfer Portal never had anything near the level of discretion that might have been intended when it was launched a few short years ago. Players that enter and exit the portal are tracked publicly, with sites like 247 Sports and Rivals keeping tabs on their movements.

With data on the 2021 cycle nearly complete and offseason programs approaching, now seemed like an appropriate time to take stock of that latest from Conference USA football programs and the Transfer Portal.

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Rice Baseball moves on from Matt Bragga after three seasons

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Rice baseball has parted ways with head coach Matt Bragga after three seasons, the school announced on Monday.

When it comes to the coaching profession, there’s a saying that rings particularly true today. “You don’t want to be the guy who follows a legend, you want to be the guy who follows the guy who follows the legend.” Three seasons removed from the end of the Wayne Graham era, Rice baseball has announced they are moving on from his successor, Matt Bragga.

Bragga took over the program prior to the 2019 season after a successful run at Tennessee Tech that ended one win shy of a trip to the College World Series in 2018. He then arrived at South Main where he went 51-76-1 over the three years that followed, including a 23-29-1 record in 2021. The Owls missed the Conference USA Tournament this season for the first time since 1993.

Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard issue this statement on the decision:

“Matt Bragga is a dedicated coach who brought a track record of success with him to Rice,” Karlgaard said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t seen enough improvement in our program for us to move forward together. We thank him for his efforts to bring Rice baseball back to the postseason and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

In his media session following the announcement, Karlgaard detailed further why the decision to move on from Bragga had been made. “It has more to do with the approach that we think we need to take,” Karlgaard said, “We just felt like we needed to make that decision now so that we could change the trajectory and get things headed in the right direction as quickly as possible.”

Karlgaard indicated the beginnings of a search had not yet begun but estimated the hunt for the Owls’ next skipper will be swift. “It’s certainly possible we could be done in 10 days” Karlgaard divulged, setting the longer, and more probable bound, at three or so weeks “depending on who emerges from our candidate pool and whether or not they’re still playing.”

Bragga was hired in the midst of the 2018 postseason in between the Super Regional round and the College World Series. Hiring someone in the midst of a postseason run would be well within the realm of possibilities. But, as indicated by the lower bound Karlgaard himself gauged, those currently free to interview would also be on the table.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Where are 2018 decommits now?

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There were a host of decommitments in the 2018 Rice Football recruiting class. Where are those players now? Did the Owls miss out or luck out?

The 2018 Rice football recruiting class was impacted by the biggest transition Rice had seen in more than a decade. On November 27, the Owls dismissed head coach David Bailiff. The Owls lost several commits after that decision and a few in the months and weeks before.

According to 247 Sports, Rice had nine decommitments during the cycle. Where are those players now?

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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls split final C-USA series with Charlotte

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Rice baseball showed some fight, but could not win their final series against Charlotte and won’t qualify for the Conference USA Tournament.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball splits series 2-2

1. Brandon Deskins an unsung hero of the 2021 pitching staff

The 2021 Rice baseball starting rotation was cobbled together from the start. Injuries, unpredictable weather happenings and performance altered the order and makeup of the four weekend starters with each successive series. Mitchell Holcomb and Roel Garcia were mainstays. Others made spot starts here and there. Brandon Deskins became the glue.

Deskins worked 53.1 innings this season with a 3.88 ERA, the best among all qualified players. He started seven games and entered others in high-leverage situations. He was tasked with getting a few outs here and there, but also worked several long relief appearances. The Rice pitching corps was better with him in it.

2. The freshmen are just getting started

Guy Garibay had an impressive weekend on the mound and at the plate. He got things started on Friday, throwing 7.2 innings in relief, allowing three runs and striking out five. Rice had fallen behind early, but it was Garibay’s career-long outing that gave Rice a chance to cut into the deficit.

His pitching performance would have been enough, but he also added a three-for-four outing at the plate in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. A bonafide two-way player, we’ve only scratched the surface of Garibay’s potential at South Main.

Alongside him, Justin Long and Nathan Becker both became regulars down the stretch. Becker’s power has been important and will be going forward. He had five RBI on the weekend including a big home run. Long’s .396 on base percentage ranks second on the team this year.

3. One season in a nutshell

Saturday’s second game of the doubleheader proved to be a microcosm of the Owls’ 2021 season. With the game tied late, Rice had a runner in scoring position with no outs in the sixth inning and eighth innings. They had a runner in scoring position and one out in the seventh. Rice was conceivably one hit away from winning the game, but couldn’t get the run home despite multiple opportunities in three straight innings.

Given the extra time, Charlotte outlasted Blake Brogdon, who made it through eight innings before ceding to Dalton Wood in the ninth. Wood allowed three hits, two runs and Rice lost the game.

Rice was a team talented enough to earn themselves opportunities that were too frequently squandered. For whatever the reason, this team never seemed to gel and put it all together. There are pieces, but there is also more work to be done.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY  | Charlotte 9 – Rice 6

Mitchell Holcomb was rocked upon arrival on Friday. Five of the first six batters he faced reached base and things went downhill quickly. He was lifted in the second inning after recording just four outs and putting two men in scoring position for Garibay. Charlotte expanded their lead to 9-2 before Garibay was abe to settle in and cool the 49er bats.

Rice scratched across pairs of runs in the third courtesy of RBIs from Austin Bulman and Justin Long. Becker added two more in the sixth, but the hole proved too big to climb out of even with the extended time.

SATURDAY 1 | Rice 11 – Charlotte 8

Rice came out swinging on Saturday. The Owls struck for four runs in the first inning, led by a three-run blast from Becker. The Owls added a pair in the second and three more in the third. Starter Roel Garcia would be lifted in favor of Deskins midway through the third who was able to cool the Charlotte bats just enough to maintain the Owls’ early advantage.

Deskins would work 4.2 innings, finishing out the seven-inning affair and earning his third win on the season. A 2 RBI single from Braden Comeaux gave Deskins and the Owls some extra breathing room in the fifth, putting Rice ahead 11-5.

SATURDAY 2 | Charlotte 6 – Rice 4

Charlotte took a 4-0 lead early in the second half of the Saturday double header. The Rice bats slowly began to pick things up in the third, scratching across singular runs in each of the next four frames to tie the game. The Owls had several chances to put crooked numbers on the board, but were held at bay by the Charlotte pitching.

Starter Blake Brogdon went eight innings, his longest outing of the season, allowing just three earned runs. When he left, the deadlock broke in favor of the visitors with Rice dropping a winnable second-half of the double header.

SUNDAY | Rice 6 – Charlotte 0

The final conference game of the 2021 season for Rice baseball was one of the quirkier games of the season. The Owls put up a six-spot in the first inning, capped off by a grand slam from Hal Hughes.

Alex DeLeon, in his only start of the season, worked through five innings without allowing a run. With Rice at the plate midway through the bottom of the fifth, weather forced a delay and ultimately a cancelation of the remainder of the game.

ON DECK | Rice baseball vs Texas (Tues)

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