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Details of Rice Athletics Strategic Plan revealed

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Making Rice Athletics a premier program in the country continues to be an evolving vision, further strengthed by the rollout of a new strategic plan.

On Friday, Rice announced the details of their 2019 Rice Athletics Strategic Plan. You can read the complete plan in detail, here. At its core, the framework is built around a continued commitment to winning at Rice, both on the field and in the classroom. Achieving that, alongside the growth of the Rice Athletics brand headline the priorities in this coming season.

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Infrastructure upgrades

Investment will be crucial to reaching those heights. The Strategic Plan provides some insight into how Rice plans to do this. The plan notes goals to “ensure adequate training space in support of high-performance goals” and to “renovate Rice Stadium”.

This seems to coincide with reports earlier this spring concerning a new practice bubble which is currently in the works. That facility, combined with a much-needed refresh of the stadium itself, will go hand in hand with increasing the effectiveness of the individual athletics programs and the fan engagement.

As for what areas of the stadium are at the forefront of the remake, Senior Associate AD Tanner Gardner said the focal point would be fan facing amenities such as common areas, the concourse, bathrooms, seating, club space and suites. The objective, as Gardner put it, is “to make our stadium a modern stadium” by building onto the existing structure in new ways. There won’t be any wrecking balls, but there will be new technology and excitement.

Commitment to winning

Building those facilities won’t be enough in itself to further winning at Rice. Athletic programs around the nation have made it clear that top end facilities plus top end talent leads to success on the field.

Further goals specify the intention to “create a special fund for extraordinary recruiting expenses”. What that looks like in reality remains to be seen, but opening up the purse to secure greater access to talent is essential to taking the next step athletically across all sports.

The obvious starting point is football, where a renewed commitment to a national search has necessitated an increased spending commitment. Said another way, money should not be the issue Rice can’t reach a recruit.

If Rice can do those things, they’ll set themselves up to fulfill their goals of building a strong brand. “Our goal is to always improve our standing in the college athletics world,” Gardner summarized, “Our job is to do the right thing. If we do the right thing we’ll get the right results.” It’s true, those right results are a ways away. But these principals set Rice up in the right direction. Now it’s time to execute.

Other notable goals and objectives

  • The formalization of summer bridge athletic programs for incoming freshman
  • The creation of a student-athlete development position
  • Biofeedback devices being incorporated into training and recovery efforts
  • Non-athletics programming such as movie nights and fun runs
  • Young alumni engagement strategy
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Rice Baseball: Previewing the Charlotte series

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A road trip to Charlotte, NC looms for Rice baseball who is once again looking to snap out of a cold streak with a series win on the road.

Listen online // Watch Friday (CUSA TV) // Watch Saturday (CUSA TV) // Watch Sunday (CUSA TV)

The last time Rice went on the road in conference play they swept Old Dominion. The Owls will need to recapture that magic after dropping a home series to struggling FIU over the weekend. Charlotte has fallen on a similar rough spell, dropping four in a row and without a win in their last six CUSA games (five losses, one tie).

Here’s how Charlotte will line up against Rice:

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday – 5:00 pm: Matt Canterino (3-4, 3.02) vs Ryan Czanstkowski (1-3, 5.97)
Saturday – 5:00 pm: Evan Kravetz (2-2, 5.36)  vs Bryce McGowan (2-4, 4.89)
Sunday – 11:00 am: Jackson Parthasarathy (3-5, 4.50) vs Carson Pinkney (2-3, 5.97)

Charlotte Pitching

For the most part, Rice has had their starting weekend rotation locked in for most of the season. Barring a few switches and tweaks due to injury, it’s been the same few faces. The same can’t be said for Charlotte, who have had eight different pitchers with two or more starts this season and none with more than seven.

Two 49ers have sub-3.00 ERAs, Patrick Szczypinski and Colby Bruce. That duo has been the backbone of the Charlotte bullpen this year, striking out 50 batters between them in 25 appearances. After that things get pretty thin. Chase Gooding has shown flashes, but he’s had some issues with his command. 

Charlotte Hitting

The offensive attack has been every bit as strong as the pitching staff has been feeble. Catcher Harris Yett and first baseman Dominick Cammarata have been key drivers. Yett leads the conference with 17 doubles while Cammarata leads the team with a whopping 1.015 OPS.

Those are two of five different of the 49ers’ regulars batting above .300, neither of which is hitting as well as Todd Elwood. The stud outfielder owns the third-best batting average in conference, slashing .398/.448/.466. He might not have the same power as Yett or Cammarata, but he might be the best contact hitter in CUSA.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Recapping the Owls’ status with a few key targets

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The 2020 Rice football recruiting class is picking up steam and the Owls might not be done adding to their numbers. Here are a few names to know.

It’s been a busy few weeks for the Rice football recruiting staff. Most notably was the hiring of former Houston assistant Alex Bown as the Owls’ Director of Recruiting and the promotion of James Burnett. The staff is already making waves, landing Fort Bend athlete Kobie Campbell this week as well as making significant headway on a few other key targets. Here are some names to keep a close eye on this spring.

Logan Kyle, WR – Tomball, Tx

The race is heating up for Tomball Memorial wideout Logan Kyle. All reports from his most recent visit to campus over the weekend were positive and there’s a belief the end could be in sight for his recruitment. At this point, the Rice and Vanderbilt lead the pack and the Owls feel good about their chances.

Sage Ennis, TE – Tallahassee, Florida

Rice finds themselves in a battle for another prized weekend visitor, too. Out of state tight end target Sage Ennis said his experience at Junior Day “couldn’t have went any better.” Barring an offer from in-town Florida State at some point down the road, Rice is sitting in good position for his commitment. Memphis is the key competitor is his recruitment.

Joseph Alexander, Connor Finucane and Brian Hibbard, OL – Baton Rouge, LA

Rice has two offensive linemen in the 2020 haul already and will look to add at least a few more before the class is complete. Three teammates from the same high school are drawing the Owls attention, all of which have been on campus in the last few weeks. Hibbard made his pledge over the weekend and the other two are trending in the right direction.

Other news and notes

The Noah Teliancich commitment to Lousiana came a bit out of left field. He had a great time at the visit and was in communication with those on the staff on his journey home. Less than 24 hours later he’d committed elsewhere. The motivation on his end is uncertain, but the abruptness of the decision suggests Rice could stick around if they choose to do so.

Rice is taking a shot on a few higher tiered recruits in this cycle, too. They know they won’t bat 1.000 on that front, but a focused effort on a few key guys could yield a big commitment or two. Drake Metcalf, a teammate of 2019 commit Jake Bailey is currently being courted by Stanford, Oregon and some other big names. Right now Rice has a foot in the door. If there’s a chance he leaves the west coast, the Owls are in as good of a position as they could be,

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Rice Baseball: Texas Longhorns edge Owls in Austin

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Rice baseball took a midweek contest with the Texas Longhorns down to the wire but couldn’t find the clutch hit, falling 3-1.

Another tough midweek test went against Rice as the Owls dropped a close one to Texas in Austin on Tuesday evening. The win gave Texas a sweep of the season series with Rice in their final scheduled meeting of the season. A third bout between the two Texas teams would require both teams to make the postseason. Here are a few things to take away from the defeat.

More arms to trust

In a rematch of an 11-4 February game at Reckling Park, pitching proved to be the deciding factor even though each staff was stretched thin. Rice used six arms; Texas threw five. None allowed more than one run and only the starters (Kel Bordwine for Rice and Ty Madden for Texas) allowed more than two hits.

The same Rice bullpen which was beaten up the first time around proved much more capable in their encore performance. After falling to FIU over the weekend, Coach Matt Bragga said he had five relievers he felt he could trust to produce consistently. That number could be growing.

Drake Greenwood allowed five runs in the first game with the Longhorns, but worked a scoreless inning on five pitches on Tuesday. Dalton Wood had a scoreless frame while Blair Lewis pumped strikes, allowing a single earned run in two innings. The pen isn’t perfect, but this was a step in the right direction.

A Justin Collins conundrum

Collins was hit on a ricochet in the series finale against FIU. He stayed in the game to catch, but was removed in the ninth inning without swinging the bat following the injury. Brandt Frazier suited up behind the plate against Texas. He’s hitting .152 on the season. Collins has a .267 average with a .408 on base percentage, leading the team with 27 walks. The advantage he provides at the plate and behind hit is significant.

Bragga has yet to give an indication on when Collins will return to the lineup. The longer he’s out, the larger the problem. He’s one of the few position players Rice can ill afford to lose for any meaningful amount of time.

Start a new streak

One loss has led to two for Rice too many times this season. In games following a loss Rice is 7-13, turning a single deficit into a losing streak four times in eight opportunities. The Owls have had losing streaks of 5, 2, and 7 and are in the midst of a three-game skid. Conversely, they’ve won more than three games in a row once this year.

Rice has always had some sort of answer to a bad week, but the margin for error has shrunk as the season grows older and older. Rice is seven games under .500 and six games back in the CUSA standings. If they’re going to rally, there’s no better time than the present.

UP NEXT | at Charlotte (Fri – Sun)
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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 ATH Kobie Campbell commits to Owls

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The 2020 Rice football recruiting class continues to add weapons to their arsenal, this time with the commitment of do-it-all athlete Kobie Campbell.

Campbell enjoyed his experience on campus on Junior Day this spring and came away with nothing but positive comments regarding the program and the staff. Not long afterward he returned to campus to observe spring practice and make his pledge, committing to play his college football at Rice in 2020.

Rice was the first D1 program to offer Missouri City athlete Kobie Campbell, securing his commitment in the span of a few weeks from the initial offer. The expedited recruiting process reflects how focused the staff was on landing Campbell and how much Campbell bought into the trajectory of the program. He joins an arsenal of talent which has only continued to grow.

Prior to Campbell coming on board, an impressive succession of recruiting wins already had Rice football at four commitments. Campbell raises that tally to five — Rice didn’t have their first commitment last year until the summer months began. The hot start has continued from March into April with more positive news likely on the horizon.

Campbell played just about everywhere in high school, but Rice intends to play him at running back. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound ball carrier has burst, quickness, and an elusiveness which leaves defenders flat-footed in his dust.

His time spent in the secondary gave him a fearlessness at the point of attack and he’s more than powerful enough to run through tackles. He’s a fantastic addition to an already strong class.

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