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2022 Rice Football Schedule Announced

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The 2022 Rice Football schedule was released by Conference USA on Tuesday, including a full 12-game slate.

Despite announcements that three member schools (Southern Miss, Old Dominion and Marshall) intend to leave Conference USA before the beginning of the 2022 football season, the league released schedules for the fall this week. As far as Rice football is concerned, there aren’t many surprises.

As it’s currently set up, the Owls will complete their rotational matchups with East Division members Western Kentucky and Charlotte, flipping home/away designations from last season. They’ll also play each member of the West Division. Rice opens non-conference play at USC, now coached by Lincoln Riley with quarterback Caleb Williams at the helm. They’ll also face McNeese, Louisiana and Houston.

Conference USA released this statement concurrently with the schedule:

Conference USA intends to conduct the 2022-23 athletic year with the full 14 institution membership intact. The C-USA Board of Directors will exhaust all necessary legal actions to ensure all members meet their contractual obligations as defined by and agreed to in the Conference USA Bylaws.

Simply put, Conference USA won’t let the three departing Sun Belt schools go without a fight. There is likely to be some lawyering on both sides before this over, leading to further confusion among administrators, coaches and players throughout the conference.

As things currently stand, here is the 2022 Rice Football schedule:

Date Opponent H/A
Sep. 3, 2022 USC Away
Sep. 10, 2022 McNeese Home
Sep. 17, 2022 Louisiana Home
Sep. 24, 2022 Houston Away
Oct. 1, 2022 North Texas Away
Oct. 8, 2022 Charlotte Home
Oct. 15, 2022 — OFF — —
Oct. 22, 2022 UAB Home
Oct. 29, 2022 WKU Away
Nov. 5, 2022 UTEP Home
Nov. 12, 2022 Louisiana Tech Away
Nov. 19, 2022 Southern Miss Away
Nov. 26, 2022 UTSA Home

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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking Down the 2026 Signees – Defense, Special Teams

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The 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class includes several hand-picked impact players on defense and special teams. Here’s how those sides of the ball stacks up. The 2026 Rice football recruiting class began with 18 signees during the Early Signing Period, the second recruiting haul for new head coach Scott Abell. Of those players, 16 are […]

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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking Down the 2026 Signees – Offense

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The 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class includes several hand-picked impact players on offense. Here’s how that side of the ball stacks up. The 2026 Rice football recruiting class began with 18 signees during the Early Signing Period, the second recruiting haul for new head coach Scott Abell. Of those players, 16 are current high school […]

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Scott Abell Inks Tremendous 2026 Rice Football Recruiting Class

Posted: December 3, 2025

Anchored by offensive lineman Marcus Page, a top five rated signee in program history, the 2026 Rice Football recruiting class represents a tremendous win for head coach Scott Abell and the Owls. Scott Abell had been on campus for a matter of days when his first signing day arrived and while he honored every commitment […]

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Rice Football Recruiting: Slot Fisher Leftwich commits to Owls

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The 2026 Rice Football recruiting class just added more offensive firepower during the Early Signing Period. Slot Fisher Leftwich has committed to the Owls. Adding playmakers on offense was a focal point of the 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class, particularly those the staff could hand-pick for specialized roles in their unique offense. With that goal […]

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Rice Baseball 2022: Names to Know — Pitching

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Rice baseball has a mix of new and old faces set to toe the rubber at Reckling Park this season. Here are a few names to know on the mound.

So much feels new about the 2022 Rice baseball team. More than just a new head coach, the Owls have a flurry of new players set to take the diamond for the first time this weekend against Texas in Austin. As for who will toe the rubber in that Friday night game, or beyond it, for that matter, the details remain fuzzy.

Last year’s weekend rotation consisted of Mitchell Holcomb followed by some combination of Roel Garcia, Blake Brogdon and Brandon Deskins. Holcomb has exhausted his eligibility and moved on. In his place appears to be Pepperdine transfer Cooper Chandler, who posted a 3.17 ERA and a 12-5 record over four seasons with the Waves and has gotten off to a strong start in spring practices.

Cooper seems the most likely to earn the Friday night spot out of the gate given his experience and production through practices. Who slots in behind him seems almost entirely up in the air. New headman Jose Cruz Jr. could stick with some of the aforementioned veterans or turn to someone like Alex DeLeon who has starting experience at Rice or San Jac transfer Thomas Burbank.

More: Jose Cruz Jr. hopes to bring modern edge to Rice baseball

No matter who snags the starting spot, Rice baseball will have options to work with in the bullpen. Dalton Wood has the potential to be a hammer at the back end. Freshman David Shaw has been utilized in the later innings this spring as well. Fellow freshman Trey Clucas might get an early look as could redshirt freshman and Texas A&M transfer Tom Vincent.

Beyond that cohort are a few more familiar names who have toed the bump at Reckling Park in years prior and look to elevate their game to compete for pitching time thanks to the new tools brought by Cruz Jr. and his staff.

Drake Greenwood, Cristian Cienfuegos, Micah Davis, Reed Gallant, Garret Zaskoda and Matthew Linskey have each had their moments in the past. Of that contingent, Cienfuegos flashed in small doses this spring. Gallant was effective as well. All could get opportunities early this season.

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Jose Cruz Jr. to bring modern, cutting-edge style to Rice Baseball

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Much has changed since Jose Cruz Jr. donned a Rice baseball jersey, but if he has his way, more change is coming for the Blue and Gray.

For many fans, Rice baseball is synonymous with so many things. The College World Series. Wayne Graham. The regal Old English R scrawled across timeless uniforms devoid of frills. To some degree, a time capsule of what college baseball is meant to be. Nobody understands that better than Jose Cruz Jr., the former Rice player, parent and now the programs’ 22nd head coach.

That’s why it only seems fitting for it to be Cruz Jr. to usher in a new era of Rice baseball.

“We’re just starting something completely different that Rice baseball has never done or seen,” he said to a group of assembled media members on the first day of spring practice.

What’s different? Cruz Jr. elaborated. “We’re playing more of a modern style of baseball, I think. We’ve moved from the old-school version of Rice baseball to more of a modern game in the way we think and the way we communicate, in the way we develop talent.”

“We’re playing more of a modern style of baseball, I think. We’ve moved from the old-school version of Rice baseball to more of a modern game in the way we think and the way we communicate, in the way we develop talent.”

The Owls’ new headman has helped usher in the Pitching Lab, equipped with every gadget and gizmo imaginable to help pitchers hone their craft. Cruz Jr. detailed a process that started with results from that lab, continued to in-depth data and reports for the staff and trickled down to customized workouts with the training staff, tailored to each individual player to hone specific aspects of their game.

Quite simply, “I think it’s a career-changer for many of the guys here,” Cruz Jr. said.

But it’s not just pitching. Cruz Jr. talked further about how the new regime — which includes Jose Cruz Sr., officially named the special assistant to the head coach — intends to approach the game differently. The new data-driven approach stands out from the more “old-school” verbiage that surrounded the program when Cruz. Jr, himself, stood in the batter’s box.

“It’s how you communicate the game,” he expounded. “The game is a little different. There’s a little bit more shifting. There’s a little bit more data available to you. There’s a certain way to be as efficient as you can on the pitching side.” In short, Cruz Jr. and his team intend to utilize as much information as they can to make their players better.

Cruz Jr. knows wins and losses will ultimately be the measuring stick with which his time as the Owls’ skipper is remembered. Still, he was adamant that the program will evolve under his watch and look different than how it has before, in the best way possible.

With the season quickly approaching, Cruz Jr. will be tasked with turning those aspirations into tangible results. “I’m not going to promise the moon right now,” he said. “I will say we will be better than we were the last couple of years and just kind of build on that success and see how far we can go.”

That next step begins on Friday, Feb. 18 in Austin, Texas when Cruz Jr. and Rice baseball visit the Texas Longhorns to open their 2022 season. The Owls will play a three-game set in Austin and visit Lance Berkman and Houston Baptist the following Wednesday before their home opener, slated for 6:30 p.m. at Reckling Park against Lamar on Friday, Feb. 25.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls swept in two-game set vs North Texas

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North Texas swept a two-game set with Rice women’s basketball over the weekend, leading the Owls for the better part of both contests.

Things got off to a rocky start for Rice women’s basketball on Thursday, their first of a pair of games against North Texas in a four-day span. The Owls managed one field goal and two free throws in the first frame, trailing 13-4 heading into the second quarter. That nine deficit ballooned to 14 by the halftime buzzer.

The second half saw the two teams ping-pong back and forth with long scoring streaks. Rice scored nine in a row to cut the deficit to four points. North Texas answered immediately with a nine-point run of their own to get their advantage back up to 13 points. The Owls would make it a three-point game in the fourth quarter, but North Texas was able to hang on and hit their free throws late to put it away.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball grinds out narrow win at UTEP

The Sunday affair shared an eerily similar feeling for much of the contest. Both teams traded baskets early before a 20-0 run by the Mean Green to put the Owls in a 30-12 hole late in the second quarter. Thus began another effort of chipping away. Rice closed the half on a modest 8-5 run, entering the break trailing 33-20.

The Owls would be held to 34.8 percent from the field for the game, cracking 40 points with less than two minutes to play on the clock. With the loss, Rice women’s basketball falls to 7-11 overall and 2-8 in conference play.

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

As has been the case for the entirety of the Rice women’s basketball season, it’s been trial-by-fire for freshmen guard Malia Fisher and she has, for the most part, walked away better for her efforts. On Thursday she finished tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 points, but also added 10 rebounds, earning the team’s only double-double outing.

For the better part of Sunday, she was the only viable offensive threat the Owls had. She led the team with nine points in the first half and added five more in the second to reach a team-high 14 points for the second-straight game.

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has two more games at Tudor Fieldhouse before they hit the road at the end of the month. On Thursday, Feb. 17 the Owls host UAB at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 19 FIU will visit Tudor Fieldhouse for a 2:00 p.m. tip.

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Rice Basketball: Owls must adjust with Guard Quincy Olivari out for the year

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With guard Quincy Olivari out for the year, Rice basketball must adjust, and it might be a bumpy process as they iron out the kinks.

A season filled with highs and lows for Rice basketball has continued along its bumpy path, finding its latest jarring cobblestone on Saturday at home against North Texas. The Owls fell to the Mean Green 67-44, their second 20+ point drubbing by the conference leaders in the span of a month and a half.

The last time these two teams met in Denton, Rice has just come off a three-week-long hiatus and was overcoming COVID-19 which had made its way through almost the entirety of the roster. “I don’t even count that game,” head coach Scott Pera said of that prior defeat, able to take solace in knowing his team would respond by winning four of their next five games.

This time, the future is less certain, in large part because of a new curveball. Guard Quincy Olivari broke his wrist late in the second half against UTEP as he was fouled going to the basket. Coach Pera confirmed Olivari would miss the remainder of the season.

“Not only does nobody feel sorry for us that Quincy is out,” Pera said, with a frank honesty that was as transparent as it was direct. “People are happy that Quincy is out because now they have a better chance of beating us.”

While Olivari was limited with a wrist injury in the fall, Rice lost four of seven games in a two-week span. They hadn’t lost that many games over any seven-game stretch since, at least that was the case until this loss to North Texas, the fourth defeat in the Owls’ last seven outings.

Rice basketball now sits at 6-6 in conference play with a hole to fix on their roster. They experimented with playing both bigs Myljyael Poteat and Max Fiedler at the same time on Saturday, a strategy they hadn’t utilized up to this point. More experiments are likely to come. Pera summed it up quite well: “We just have to find a way.”

Photo credit Maria Lysaker
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