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Rice Athletics: Top 10 Moments from 2024

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2024 was filled with highs and lows for Rice Athletics. The Roost picked out 10 moments that stood out the most along the way.

10. Rice basketball defeats Memphis

It was a season of mixed results, but the high points were worth savoring for Rice basketball this year. Head coach Scott Pera’s team earned perhaps their most memorable win of his tenure on January 31, upsetting Memphis on the road.

9. Rice Football defeats Navy under interim coach Pete Alamar

Days removed from the dismissal of head coach Mike Bloomgren and following the second-longest rain delay in college football history, Rice football stunned the AAC by knocking off Navy, which had previously been undefeated in league play.

8. Soccer posts dominant home season

Rice soccer bounced back from a down season in 2023 in tremendous fashion, nearly completely an undefeated season at home before falling on Senior Day 1-0 to Charlotte. Nevertheless, a dominant 10-1-1 record at home was impressive after the squad went winless at Holloway Field the year prior.

7. Lots of new beginnings

This year, Rice introduced new coaches (Rob Lanier – basketball, Scott Abell – football) and new sports. The women’s diving team returned for the first time since 1991 and the Owls announced the coming addition of the women’s golf team which will debut in 2026.

6. Parker Smith drafted by hometown Houston Astros

A Houston native and multi-year Friday night ace for Rice Baseball, Parker Smith was a fourth round selection of the Houston Astros in July, the highest an Owl has been drafted since Trei Cruz went in the third round in 2020.

5. A two-fer of Tennis successes

Divna Ratkovic won the AAC women’s individual championship right at home, clinching the victory on campus at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. The men’s team didn’t take home the AAC crown, but they did clinch their first trip since 2017 to the NCAA Championship as a team.

4. Genny Volpe posts 400th career win

If it feels like Volpe has been leading Rice Volleyball to successful seasons year after year for quite some time, that’s because she has. Volpe earned career win number 400 this season when the team beat Tulane in their AAC opener. All 400 of those wins have come at Rice.

3. Two podiums for Women’s Track and Field at NCAA Championships

Tara Simpson-Sullivan took home second and Mckyla Van der Westhuizen placed third in their respective events, hammer throw and javelin, at the 2024 NCAA D1 Outdoor Championships. Simpson-Sullivan broke her own school record and AAC record in the process while Van der Westhuizen delivered a personal best to reach the podium.

2. Luke McCaffrey drafted 100th overall

With the final pick of the third round, the Washington Commanders selected Rice football wide receiver Luke McCaffrey. McCaffrey became first Rice player drafted since Christian Covington in 2015 and the highest Owl drafted since Phillip Gains went in the third round to the Chiefs in 2014.

1. Rice women’s basketball wins AAC, makes NCAA Tournament

Following a tough stretch in February, 10-Seed Rice Women’s Basketball caught fire in March, running through the AAC Tournament on their way to the programs first ever AAC Tournament Championship. That earned them a trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they gave 3-Seed LSU all they could handle before falling on the road.

Honorable Mentions…

How about you? Which of these moments from Rice Athletics did you enjoy the most? Cutting this down to 10 was challenging. Which Rice Athletics events should be added to the list?

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Rice Baseball: Astros select Parker Smith in 4th Round of MLB Draft

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A Houston native, Rice baseball hurler Parker Smith has been selected in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros.

Parker Smith won’t have to travel to continue his baseball journey. The Rice baseball staff ace was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros on Monday. He became the highest Owl drafted since Trei Cruz went in the third round to the Detroit Tigers in 2020 and a fifth top-five round selection for the program in the past six years.

Smith paced the Owls on the mound for each of the last two seasons, making 32 consecutive starts over that time. Smith was an All-Conference selection in Conference USA in 2023. He followed that up by finishing in the top 10 in the American in strikeouts () and ERA this past season.

Smith is the 13th Rice player drafted by the Astros. Garrett Gayle was the most recent South Main to Crawford Street selection, a 12th-round pick by the Astros in 2012.

Rice Baseball MLB Draft selections (last 10 years)

Player Draft Year Team Round
Parker Smith 2024 Astros 4
Justin Long 2023 Braves 7
Hayden Durke 2023 Diamondbacks 13
Matthew Linskey 2023 Diamondbacks 16
Roel Garcia 2022 Rays 14
Trei Cruz 2020 Tigers 3
Matt Canterino 2019 Twins 2
Evan Kravetz 2019 Reds 5
Garrett Gayle 2019 Astros 12
Roel Garcia 2019 Blue Jays 27
Trei Cruz 2019 Nationals 37
Addison Moss 2019 Rays 37
Ford Proctor 2018 Rays 3
Ricky Salinas 2018 Reds 25
Cody Staab 2018 Marines 30
Glenn Otto 2017 Yankees 5
Dane Myers 2017 Tigers 6
Tristan Gray 2017 Pirates 13
Jon Duplantier 2016 Diamondbacks 3
Blake Fox 2016 Brewers 10
Jordan Stephens 2015 White Sox 5
Leon Byrd 2015 Rangers 10
Kevin McCanna 2015 Astros 13
Austin Orewiler 2015 Reds 14
Matt Ditman 2015 Roayls 16
John Clay Reeves 2015 Nationals 20
John Williamson 2015 Cubs 23



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Rice Baseball 2024 Season Review: Starting Pitching

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The Rice baseball starting rotation was imperfect, but productive in 2024, paving the way for much of the team’s successes.

For the first time under head coach Jose Cruz Jr, the Rice baseball starting rotation was truly set it and forget it. The Owls kept the same triumvirate of arms almost every weekend of the regular season and never had to truly consider demoting any of the three because of poor performance. The rotation was deployed without any hiccups.

For the purposes of this discussion, the three pitchers who were mainstays in the weekend rotation were included as the Owls tended to rotate through midweek guys as injuries cropped up and players produced. Here’s a rundown of how the starters faired this season.

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** Photo credit: Maria Lysakar **



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Rice Baseball overcomes deja-vu moment, soaring past UAB

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With the season on the line, Rice Baseball ace Parker Smith tossed a gem, powering the Owls past UAB in an AAC Tournament elimination game.

Parker Smith has been the Friday night starter for Rice baseball all season, typically making him the first man on the mound for every series. After head coach Jose Cruz Jr opted to throw JD McCracken a day early against East Carolina — a move that proved successful despite the unfavorable result — Smith was handed a somewhat unfamiliar role, the second man up.

That the Owls had their star pitcher on the mound with their season on the line is all that really mattered. Smith was unfazed by the juggled rotation order, mowing down Blazer after Blazer as he worked deep into the game, preserving the bullpen and giving his team the chance to play another day.

As Smith worked, his teammates steadily compiled a modest lead for him to protect. Jack Riedel launched a home run in the second inning. Another run came around to score in the next inning on a double-play groundout and a third followed in the fourth frame, courtesy of a UAB error. Kyte McDonald drove in another to make it 4-0 in favor of the Owls in the top of the seventh.

More: Parker Smith’s journey from hometown kid to Rice Baseball ace

Smith left the mound after running into some trouble in the bottom of the seventh, but a sprinting play by Ben Dukes in center field allowed Garrett Stratton to get out of the inning without damage. Smith finished the day with a final line of 6.2 innings pitched, six hits, eight strikeouts, two walks and, most importantly, zero runs allowed.

“It was very necessary,” Cruz said of Parker’s strong start. “I was very excited for him to be able to do that and give us that chance. It seemed like he was on his game from the beginning.”

In a somewhat fitting twist of fate, Rice found itself in a deja vu moment soon after Smith left the mound. The Owls once again held a 4-0 lead in the eighth inning with the bases loaded, just like they did in the prior game against ECU. Last time they failed to score and their opponent rallied to beat them late. This time, though, Rice got back-to-back run-producing at-bats, taking a 7-0 lead into the bottom half of the inning and preserving it with a double play.

“What a difference a day makes,” Cruz said with a bittersweet chuckle.

Riedel, who officially put the game out of reach with his league-leading 17th home run in the ninth inning, couldn’t help but notice the similarities in the situations. “We kind of were in the same spot today [as yesterday against ECU] and sometimes it just happens in baseball, right,” he said. “We were in a fortunate spot today to take advantage of it and get the lead right there.”

Rice will have an off day tomorrow before resuming tournament play on Friday. Tucker Alch is expected to get the start with the Owls’ entire arsenal in the bullpen available to assist. They’ll either be in a rematch with ECU for the fifth time in eight days or a matchup with Wichita State.

“It’s a gigantic confidence builder for us. We haven’t won a conference [tournament] game in years, it’s been a while. It’s exciting for us to be able to play on, in a do-or-die situation to come out like we did,” Cruz said. “Our confidence is high.”

Up Next: Friday, May 24 at 12:00 pm CT vs Loser of Wichita State/East Carolina



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Rice Baseball wins battle of the Owls over Florida Atlantic

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Rice Baseball took two of three from FAU in their final home series of the weekend, taking one step closer to a berth in the conference tournament.

FRIDAY | Rice 5 – FAU 4

Parker Smith and Davion Hickson combined to pitch nine innings of four-run ball in the series opener with Hickson taking over for Smith with two away in the sixth and going the rest of the way. Hickson’s lone blemish was a leadoff home run in the ninth which allowed FAU to tie the game 4-4.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball splits season series with Lamar

With the threat of extra innings looming, Manny Garza, who had already delivered a go-ahead home run, led off with a single. Jacob Devenny got the runner to third with a double down the line. The tying run scored on the next play when Rank hit a high hopper to shortstop who tried unsuccessfully to turn two, allowing Rice to win the game in walk off fashion.

SATURDAY (AM) | FAU 6 – Rice 5

After trading a run apiece in the early innings, FAU jumped in front with three runs in the third, forcing Rice starter JD McCracken from the game early. Tyler Hamilton came through with 3.1 clutch innings out of the pen, striking out four without allowing a hit. He handed the ball to Jackson Blank, who was tagged for two more runs in the seventh.

Facing a five-run deficit, Rice did all they could to make things interesting in the final frame. The Owls loaded the bases for Pierce Gallo who launched a grand slam over the right field fence. Eric Correa doubled to get the tying run to second, but he was stranded there, leaving Rice just run short of a thrilling comeback.

SATURDAY (PM) | Rice 5 – FAU 4

Tucker Alch delivered a gem in the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader, throwing 5.1 innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits with four strikeouts. A two-out RBI single in the second inning was the lone blemish on his resume, but even that run came after he’d been staked to a 2-0 advantage. Those runs, both unearned, came courtesy of multiple FAU errors in the first inning and a sac fly from Jack Riedel.

More: Jose Cruz Jr. and the trajectory of Rice Baseball

Both sides traded zeroes for quite a while after those early runs to open the game until the bats woke up in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rice scored three in that frame. FAU answered with three of their own in their next two trips to the plate, setting up a pressure-packed ninth inning which ended with a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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1. Manny Garza heating up

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ON DECK | vs Texas Southern (Tues), at ECU (Thr-Sat)



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