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Rice Women’s Basketball: Search begins after Tina Langley’s departure

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Rice women’s basketball is on the hunt for a new head coach. With Tina Langley moving on, where will the Owls turn next?

In a way, it came out of the blue. One Sunday afternoon, Rice women’s basketball was cutting down the nets at the WNIT. A little more than a week later Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard gathered with media on a zoom call to announce what he termed an “aggressive” search.

The search was made necessary the day prior when Washington announced the hiring of now-former Rice coach Tina Langley. After turning Rice into three-time Conference USA Champions with postseason championships in the CBI and WNIT, Langley had caught the eye of the Huskies. Now she’s headed to the Pac-12 and Rice has to start over, albeit not from scratch.

In a statement released shortly following Langley’s announcement, Karlgaard spoke to the structure Langley was leaving at South Main. “We have an incredible foundation in place for women’s basketball, including a winning program, top-notch student-athletes, strong university and alumni support, and a world-class institution,” Karlgaard said. “As we look for the next leader of our program, we are in a prime position to attract the very best coaches in college basketball to Rice University.”

Those close to the program always knew Langley was destined for bigger things. She was reportedly on the shortlist to be the successor at Duke last summer before the Blue Devils looked elsewhere. Langley and the Owls made the extra year count, ending a grueling 2021 season with a trophy. In many ways, she went out on top.

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Langley leaves Rice women’s basketball with the highest winning percentage in program history (.673). She went 126-61 in six seasons, winning 20 or more games in her final five campaigns. She coached WNBA draft selection Erica Ogwumike and reigning three-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, Nancy Mulkey.

With Langley headed West, Rice has work to do. Karglaard met with the team on Monday, shortly after Langley informed them of her departure. Now Karlgaard intends to gather further feedback from current players first then formally begin reaching out to candidates.

Karlgaard noted interest in the job “was pretty high right now” and the candidate pool would focus on coaches with “a depth of experience”, including former assistants (like Langley) and others that already had head coaching experience. Presumably, there would be more sitting head coaches interested this time around than when Langley was hired six years ago. Altogether he expects the search to last somewhere “between 10 and 20 days”, with the freedom to extend the search should it be necessary.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls run out of time, drop series to Middle Tennessee

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Rice baseball ran out of time against Middle Tennessee, ending the weekend with an extra-inning tie and leaving Murfeesburro with a series loss.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Rice baseball loses series 2-1-1

1. Rotation has potential, but depth remains an issue

There’s been a lot of encouraging outings from members of the weekend rotation this year, but syncing those positive days together amidst the four starters has seemed almost impossible. Rice had two starts this weekend fail to complete four innings. It’s probably not a coincidence the Owls failed to win either of those games (although they did salvage a tie).

Thanks to sturdy outings from Blake Brogdon and Mitchell Holcomb, the bullpen wasn’t overly taxed, but the Owls couldn’t cobble together enough arms to salvage the finale with five of six pitchers surrendering at least one run and two allowing three or more hits in a single inning. The bullpen has room to grow, but limiting their work to three or four innings a game is a must going forward.

2. Lineup card is settling in

With Rice baseball in the thick of conference play, the lineup seems to have reached a steady-state. The same four (Cade Edwards, Bradley Gneiting, Braden Comeaux, Guy Garibay) anchored the top spots of the lineup this weekend and it’s hard to see them moving any time soon. The order of the back end of the lineup changed, but the cast of characters has started to congeal there as welll.

Will Karp and Justin Long have solidified themselves as everyday players with Austin Bulman and Connor Walsh rounding out the bottom of the lineup. The second half has been more inconsistent at the plate, but for better or worse, the Owls know how the pieces are going to be put together on a weekly basis.

3. Clutch hitting comes and goes

Whether it was the walk-off win against UTSA or the ninth inning rally on Saturday afternoon, this team has showcased they can score runs in big moments. They know how to get the clutch hit. But when it comes to the grind of a full nine (or seven) inning game, the hits weren’t there this weekend.

Rice went 6-for-37 with runners in scoring position this weekend. They had multiple hits with runners in scoring position in a single game just once, going 4-for-11 in their lone victory. Rice hit .203 in the four-game series and .162 with runners in scoring position. That’s not going to get it done.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

THURSDAY | MTSU 4 – Rice 1

Middle Tennessee ace Aaron Brown was at his best in the opener. He struck out nine Owls on his way to a two-hit complete game. Rice generated its only run of the day on a Bradley Gneiting double, scoring Cade Edwards who had just been hit by a pitch in the previous at bat. At the time, that represented the tying run.

Deadlocked at 1-1 entering the eighth inning, Middle Tennessee engineered a two-0ut rally, scoring three runs with Drake Greenwood on the mound to reclaim the lead. Rice went quietly in the ninth.

FRIDAY 1 | MTSU 4 – Rice 3

Rice starter Roel Garcia was pulled after three innings in Game 2. He also exited early in the week prior with cramping issues, according to head coach Matt Bragga. When he left, the Owls were trailing 2-0, but still very much in the game. The two sides would train runs in the middle innings before Cade Edwards delivered an equalizing two-run home run in the seventh.

Once more, the two teams went to the late innings tied. And once again, Middle Tennessee found the clutch hit. This time coming in the form of a walk-off infield single to clinch Game 2.

FRIDAY 2 | Rice 4 – MTSU 1

Rice got a game back in the back end of the Friday double-header, turning a narrow 1-0 deficit into a three-run advantage with a crooked number in the fifth inning.  Eight Owls came to the plate in the inning. Connor Walsh struck out to start the frame and Will Karp hit into a double play to end it. Between them, six other Owls tallied singles, scoring four.

For the second week in a row, Rice starter Mitchell Holcomb went seven innings. On this occasion, he held Middle Tennessee to just one run on four hits, striking out 10. Given the lead late, he held on for the Owls’ only win of the weekend.

SATURDAY | Rice 9 – MTSU 9 (Tie)

The scoring picked up on Saturday. Rice homered three times, two from Cade Edwards and scored three runs in two separate innings. Their eight-run outburst in regulation equaled their total scoring output from the first three games.

Twice, Rice thought they’d earned a series splt. The Owls entered the ninth inning trailing but scored three with the help of a Middle Tennessee error. The Blue Raiders got the run back in the bottom half of the inning on back-to-back doubles. A sac-fly put Rice three outs away in the 11th, but another RBI double equalized things in the bottom half. Curfew was called after 12 innings, ending the game in a tie.

ON DECK | Louisiana Tech (Fri-Sun, four games).

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Rice Football: 2021 Blue-Gray Spring Game Review

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Rice football spring practice wrapped up this week with the Blue-Gray Game. Final thoughts and takeaways from the last session of the spring.

What a difference a week can make. The last update came following the final scrimmage of the spring in which the defense dominated the offense from start to finish. The reversal came true on Friday night during the annual Rice Football Blue-Gray Spring Game. The offense went on to win 48-34, holding on to a commanding first-half lead.

The offense scored on five of their first seven drives, with Wiley Green and TJ McMahon each leading a pair of touchdown drives. Then the defense took charge, limited the offense to just three scoring plays over the final 12 drives, one of which came on a 65-yard touchdown bomb from McMahon to wideout Andrew Mason.

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For those that might have missed it, you can check out the initial depth chart reactions as well as the Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4 practice notebooks. Not subscribed? The Roost will have you covered every step of the way this spring and beyond. Subscribers get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and special features. Subscribe on Patreon and get access to it all today.

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Rice Basketball: Owls land commitment from UMass transfer Carl Pierre

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Rice basketball has added another impactful scoring threat, picking up a commitment from UMass grad transfer Carl Pierre.

The Transfer Portal was not kind to Rice basketball last spring. No sooner had the regular season ended than was head coach Scott Pera abruptly met with an exodus of outgoing players. Pera and Co. reloaded, taking the Owls further into the Conference USA Tournament than ever before under his watch.

Set on making a return trip and going further into March, Rice hopes to add the “finishing touch” to a strong corps. To this point, only graduate Payton Moore has elected to not return to South Main next season. He’ll look to play his final year of eligibility elsewhere. His absence opens up a roster spot that Rice will move to fill quickly with former UMass guard Carl Pierre.

Pierre is a former high school teammate of current Rice Owl, Travis Evee. Although the two went their separate ways for college, they both retained the propensity for scoring. Evee finished second (to teammate Quincy Olivari) in three-point field goal percentage among all C-USA shooters. Pierre shot 33.3 percent from three last season, a mark that would have put him fifth among all C-USA players last year. He’s 38.4 percent shooter from three in his career.

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Pierre leaves UMass second all-time in career three-point field goals made. He started 99 straight games for the Minutemen and should slide right into a starting spot at Rice. Given his track record and the opportunities presented by the Rice offense, the Owls very well boast three of the best distance shooters in the entire league next season.

As things currently stand, Pierre would join a starting rotation that includes Olivari, Evee, Max Fielder and Quincy Olivari. If you like scoring, you’re in luck. There won’t be a more potent offense in Conference USA. The season can’t get here soon enough.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Previewing the MTSU Series

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Rice baseball departed for their first Conference USA road trip, paying a visit to Murfreesboro, TN. Here’s how the Owls stack up with the Blue Raiders.

The beginning of four-game weeks is officially upon us. Rice won’t play another midweek game until mid-April. For the time being, the focus will be solely on Conference USA opponents. They’ll get one more crack at an opponent from their own division this week when they take on Middle Tennessee.

Game Notes

Times: Thursday 3:00 p.m. | Friday 1:00 p.m. / 4.00 p.m. | Saturday 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Reese Smith Jr. Field
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
Watch: CUSAtv

How each team fared this week

Rice baseball (12-12) saw a relatively hot streak snapped this past weekend, going 1-3 against UTSA at Reckling Park. A walk-off Saturday afternoon win was the bright spot.

Middle Tennesse (13-10) split a four-game series with UAB in Birmingham their last time out. The Blue Raiders were shut out 8-0 in their opener before rebounding to win two of the back end of a Friday doubleheader and split the remaining games.

Probable Pitchers

Friday | Blake Brogdon (2-3, 6.67)
Saturday 1 | Roel Garcia (1-1, 3.97)
Saturday 2 | Mitchell Holcomb (3-2, 4.86)
Sunday | Brandon Deskins (1-3, 5.47)

MTSU Pitching

Middle Tennessee ranks in the top 10 nationally in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio. If Rice hopes to get on base this weekend, they’re going to have to earn it. Typical Friday night starter Aaron Brown has already amassed a staggering 52 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitched. Trent Siebert also has more K’s (39) than he does innings worked (33.0).

The rest of the staff is equally stout. Only one member of the Blue Raider’s pitching corps that has gone 10+ innings has an ERA above Brown’s 4.10. Opposing batters are hitting .227 on the season against MTSU pitching.

MTSU Hitting

The offense hasn’t been as prolific. Two MTSU hitters are batting better than .300 with right fielder Cole Escher pacing the offense with a .356 average. While the rest of the lineup doesn’t boast an impressive average, they do pack some power. Four different hitters have seven or more extra base hits, led by Brett Coker who has eight (three doubles, two triples and three home runs).

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