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Rice Basketball 2025 Roster Tracker

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The Rice basketball roster is going through its usual offseason permutations. Stay tuned here for updates as the Transfer Portal turns.

Roster churn has become a part of college sports as we know and Rice basketball is not immune to the ebb and flow of players coming in and out. With the 2024-2025 season in the books, this page will serve as a running tracker regarding the roster for the upcoming season as it currently stands. The last official roster is available here.

Feel free to bookmark it and refer back to it from time to time as players announce their intentions throughout the offseason.

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Rice Basketball News

Rice Basketball, Rice Basketball Recruiting, Alex Leeth

Rice Basketball Recruiting: F Alex Leeth commits to Owls

Posted: September 12, 2025

The 2026 Rice Basketball recruiting class is off to a strong start. Forward Alex Leeth has committed to the Owls. The future is bright on South Main, with new talent on the way in the form of an initial wave of commitments joining the 2026 Rice Basketball recruiting class in recent weeks. The Owls’ upcoming […]

Rice Basketball, Rice Basketball Recruiting, Jaxson Thompson

Rice Basketball Recruiting: G Jaxson Thompson commits to Owls

Posted: August 31, 2025

The first commitment of the 2026 Rice Basketball recruiting class is on the board. Guard Jason Thompson has committed to the Owls. Once head coach Rob Lanier and his staff had retooled the existing roster they were able to turn their attention to the upcoming 2026 Rice Basketball recruiting class in earnest. They scoured the […]

Rice Football

What’s Next: Rice Athletics and the House Settlement

Posted: June 27, 2025

The House Settlement sent shockwaves through college sports. This month’s subscriber Q&A focuses on what it means for Rice Athletics. College sports won’t be the same as they once were following the House Settlement earlier this summer, which introduces the first organized attempts at direct payments to college athletes. Every university is approaching the changes […]

Rice Football, NCAA

Judge Approves Historic House v. NCAA Settlement

Posted: June 6, 2025

Following a lengthy process, a federal judge on Friday granted final approval of the House v. NCAA Settlement, paving the way for schools to pay athletes directly. In a landmark decision that will alter the landscape of collegiate sports, Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California approved a far-reaching settlement of the House […]

Rice basketball, Rice women's basketball, Conference USA, Conference USA Basketball

Rice Basketball Recruiting: G Jordan Williams commits to Owls

Posted: June 3, 2025

An SEC transfer has signed as the final addition to the 2025 Rice basketball recruiting class. Former Vanderbilt point guard Jordan Williams is officially an Owl. Following an initial flurry of activity with the end of the season, rosters across the country have been trending closer and closer towards competition. The 2025 Rice Basketball recruiting […]

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: C Stephen Giwa commits to Owls

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The first Transfer Portal addition of the incoming Rice basketball recruiting class is on board. Texas A&M Corpus Christi center Stephen Giwa has committed to the Owls.

Transfer Portal season is upon us, which means new faces for the incoming Rice basketball recruiting class. A few players have already announced their intentions to leave South Main, opening up spots for the program to bolster the roster for the upcoming year. The Owls kicked off this cycle with the addition of a nearby talent, landing a commitment from Corpus Christi center Stephen Giwa.

Giwa was born in Nigeria and moved to Houston at the age of 12, going to high school in the area before heading out of the city for school. Giwa told The Roost he considers himself a Houston native and is looking forward to returning home with his wife as they prepare to welcome their first child this summer.

Given the level of responsibilities Giwa already has on his plate, finding the right home for his final season of college ball was paramount. That’s where Rice entered the picture, making an impressive case to land his services.

“From the moment I met Coach Lanier and the staff, I could tell they genuinely cared, not just about me as a player but as a person,” Giwa said. “Meeting them made me want to be part of the family they’re building here. Our core values aligned in a way that felt natural.”

Giwa arrives after Rice following three productive seasons with Texas A&M Corpus Christi, growing into a full time starter over the last two seasons, most recently averaging 5.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game a season ago while leading the Islanders with a .636 shooting percentage. For reference, that’s almost 50 points better than any Rice player over the same time period.

It’s not just the scoring ability that made this pairing a fit. Giwa prides himself on his defense and says he wants to grow, something he credits the Owls’ coaching staff for demonstrating along the way.

“What I liked most about the system is how much it values playing with physicality, purpose, and unselfishness,” Giwa said. “I look forward to being part of a program that plays with discipline and toughness, which is exactly how I like to play.”

More: Rice Basketball 2025 Roster Tracker

Giwa should step in and fill a role in the post, taking over for the departing Caden Powell and giving Rice basketball a presence in the interior. The 6-foot-9 big man will be leaned on heavily for his rebounding ability and should be a tremendous fit in the Owls’ system.



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Rice Basketball falls to Charlotte in AAC Tournament

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No. 12 Seed Rice Basketball took an early lead but couldn’t hang on, falling to No. 13 Seed Charlotte in the AAC Tournament.

The opening game of the AAC Tournament started out at a modest pace with Rice Basketball and Charlotte trading baskets in the early minutes of the first half. The 49ers held a modest lead before the Owls started scoring in earnest. Trailing by one midway just past the midpoint of the half, Rice would go on a 15-3 run jumping out to a big lead. They’d hold an 11 point advantage at the break and looked to be in control, but Charlotte wasn’t done just yet.

The 49ers came out of the break with furious intensity, getting the game back within three with a 10-2 burst to open the second half. Rice would hold the edge for some time past that, but the margin would never reach double digits again. Instead, Charlotte drew level, tying the game at 52 with 4:41 to play.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense

Once again, Rice basketball found itself with the game on the line in the final moments. Free throws were exchanged and Rice had the ball down by one with 13.3 remaining. A jumper from Trae Broadnax bounced off the rim, Charlotte grabbed the board and just like that the Owls’ season was effectively over.

Rice ends its season with a finale record of 13-19.

Final Box | Charlotte 64, Rice 61

Highlights

What They’re Saying | Press Conference

Key takeaway | Learning to close

This marks the 13th straight defeat for Rice basketball in games decided by six points or fewer. Bad luck plays into any such streak that disastrous in nature, but the clear inability to close out games is unmistakable. Credit is due to coach Rob Lanier, who addressed his team’s most glaring flaw head on.

“It’s kind of been the same story for us throughout the year. We’ve been in a lot of these close games and haven’t found a way to win it, Lanier said. “I told them that I’ll take responsibility for my part in that, and going forward the guys who come back, they have to share in that responsibility so we can grow and we can change the face of what this program is all about.”

Even though this kind of result isn’t new, the emotions post game were still very real.

“No, there’s no less pain,” Lanier said.

Likewise, guard Trae Broadnax opened up about the growing weight of the team’s struggles in those clutch situations this season. “I think when they don’t go the right way, I think there’s a lot of anxiety that rises up just because we haven’t got over the hump in so many of those close games down the stretch,” he said “You can turn the entire thing around in terms of results so that you can get that monkey off your back, but we never got to the point where we could do that.”

Broadnax has an additional year of eligibility remaining and indicated he’s looking forward to joining Lanier in rectifying the Owls’ biggest flaw. The 2024-2025 season is in the books. That work can start right now.



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2025 AAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Preview

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The 2025 AAC Men’s Basketball Tournament is slated to tip off in DFW this week. Here’s a preview of the action.

The Favorite: Memphis

At 16-2 in league play and 26-5 overall, Memphis is the front runner to cut down the nets this season, entering the conference tournament as the No. 2 scoring team in the league, thanks to PJ Haggerty and company with strong defensive metrics to go alongside it. The only AAC team in the top 50 of KenPom as of Monday, anything less that a tournament championship would be disappointing for this program.

The Contenders: North Texas, UAB

There are at least two squads capable of thwarting the Tigers’ aspirations. UAB is the only team in the league that averages more points per game than Memphis while North Texas allows nearly 13 points fewer per game than the Tigers. Neither has been as consistent as Memphis has been this season, but both boast NCAA Tournament history and enough talent to beat the Tigers head-to-head. The Mean Green came closest to doing that in the regular season, losing by four in Memphis.

The Dark Horse: FAU

Florida Atlantic is as battle tested as they come and despite an uninspiring 17-14 record. The Owls looked to be contenders for an top four seed at times this year, but a three game losing streak in late February, including losses to Memphis and North Texas, buffeted them down to the five spot. FAU can shoot it and has moments on defense to stay afloat on that side of the court.

The Wild Card: Temple

When in doubt, bet on the three ball to cause chaos in March. Temple is second in the conference behind Memphis in three point field goal percentage and is one of the teams most capable of getting hot behind the arc and knocking off someone they shouldn’t. Once that happens, it’s anyone’s guess how the rest of the tournament might play out.

The Bracket

The opening play-in game will take place on Wednesday, March 12, with first full day of action set for Thursday, March 13. Here is the slate for the first two days. The full schedule is available on the conference website. All early-round games can be streamed on ESPN+, with the championship on ESPNU.

First Round | Wednesday, March 12 (Super Pit in Denton, TX)

Game 1: No. 13 Charlotte vs. No. 1 Rice – 12 p.m. CT

Second Round | Thursday, March 13 (Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX)

Game 2: No. 9 South Florida vs. No. 8 Wichita State – 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. No. 5 FAU – 1:30 p.m. CT
Game 4: No. 10 Tulsa vs. No. 7 Temple – 6 p.m. CT
Game 5: No. 11 UTSA vs. No. 6 ECU – 8 p.m. CT




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Rice Basketball loses to Wichita State on Senior Day

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As has been the case for much of the season, Rice Basketball took another team down to the wire, this time falling to Wichita State.

A swarming Rice basketball defense set the tone for what would become a grind of a game at Tudor Fieldhouse on Senior Night. The Owls forced three Wichita State turnovers in the first two minutes, jumping out quickly to an 8-2 advantage. They’d hold a small lead for the better portion of the first half before things began to unravel.

Wichita State went on a thunderous 12-0 run to go in front by seven, taking advantage of six Rice turnovers in that span. Despite an ice-cold stretch in which Rice missed 11-of-12 shots from the field and fell behind by 10, the Owls were able to rally and get back within three points at halftime.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense

After a bit of shooting lull to open the second half, Rice finally started to heat up from the field. Four consecutive field goals, two from Andrew Akuchie inside and a pair of threes from Alem Huseinovic brought the game back within one possession. That razor thin margin would linger for the rest of the game.

Emory Lanier his a layup to bring Rice within four with 6:57 to play. Neither side would make a field goal for more than six minutes until Wichita State finally got a jumper to go, snapping a stretch of 12 missed shots in a row. Unfortunately for Rice, their seven consecutive misses prevented them from closing the gap and resulted in yet another deflating, close loss.

Final Box | Wichita State 63, Rice 59

What They’re Saying

Key takeaway | Onto Denton, then Fort Worth?

The final standings won’t be determined until after the weekend, but Rice basketball will be playing at the Super Pit next Wednesday. By virtue of the Owls’ loss on Thursday, they won’t catch Tulsa in the standings and will most likely be playing Charlotte in the play-in game. The seeding, whether Rice will be the No. 12 or No. 13, is yet to be determined.

If Rice can win that game, set to be played at the Super Pit in Denton, then they’ll join the rest of the conference at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth for the rest of the tournament.

Up Next: AAC Tournament



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