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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 Basketball overcomes slow start, tops PVAMU

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Rice basketball trailed at the break before closing in furious fashion, taking down Prairie View A&M at home.

Rice basketball led for 28 seconds in the first half against Prairie View A&M on Sunday afternoon, another prolonged slump against a nonconference foe the Owls were expected to handle rather easily, this on the heels of an upset by North Texas-Dallas a few days prior.

An early three from Emory Lanier was one of just two triples the Owls made in an opening half in which they shot 26.5 percent from the floor. A strong defensive effort gave Rice a chance to weather those early woes and try once more to generate some momentum in the second half. After trading a few baskets in the early moments, Rice started to take control.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

Lanier got things going with a jumper, then got help from three different teammates to spark a 9-0 run, the longest of the game for the Owls, which put Rice up by seven in a game they’d trailed for so long. Both teams would pick up the scoring pace from that point, but Rice managed to keep their advantage to multiple baskets, thwarting another would-be upset bid in its tracks.

A seven-point lead ballooned to 19 points as Rice basketball began to find their rhythm with the ball, matching their defensive intensity with some efficient offensive execution. Rice would wrap up the much-needed win and go into the holiday break on a high note.

Final Box | Rice 64, PVAMU 46

Key takeaway | Bring back the Bahamas?

Rice basketball largely hasn’t looked the same since they arrived back on American soil following a 2-1 stretch at the Nassau Championship in the Bahamas where they beat a vey good Arkansas State team rather convincingly.

The Owls were 7-2 at that point with losses to Florida State and Hofstra (in overtime). They’re 2-2 since and the losses are about as ugly as they can come. Dropping this game to a bad PVAMU squad might have signaled the time for a full blown panic. As it is, they found a way to battle back and win. That matters, but the need for the rally is another warning in itself.

Following Sunday’s game, the program is off until they open conference ply on January 1 at Tulsa. Time will tell whether a break to mentally reset is the right medicine for the Owls’ currently maladies, but whatever the right answer is, doing something different seems like a solution worth trying.

It’s been two weeks of largely bad basketball with a sliver of hope at the tail end of this contest. They’re going to need a lot more of the latter if they want to get it where they hope to go.

Up Next: at Tulsa (Wed, Jan. 1)

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Rice Basketball upset by UNT-Dallas

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Rice basketball missed the tying free throw in the final seconds of regulation, falling to North Texas-Dallas at home.

In hindsight, a sluggish start from Rice basketball probably should have served as a sign of trouble ahead. The Owls traded baskets with their opponents in the early goings on Thursday, trailing a large portion of the first half before a 10-0 run in the middle of the period put Rice in front by more than a basket for the first time.

A few well-timed three pointers from Jacob Dar and Denver Anglin helped thwart some runs from the Owls’ foes, but the margin hung around 10-points or through the end of the half. That inability to lengthen the lead proved consequential for Rice who watched UNT-Dallas start chipping away in the second half.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

A 15-point Rice advantage was whittled down to seven by an 8-0 UNT-Dallas run before any advantage evaporated entirely and the game was tied at 61 apiece with 3:43 on the clock.

Free throws would prove to be the decider. UNT-Dallas’ Vernon Johnson knocked down all three of his attempts under 10 seconds to give his team a one-point lead. For Rice, Kellen Amos had two free throws near the two-second mark. He missed both and Rice lost.

As is often the case, a loss like this is due to more than poor free-throw shooting. Eight steals by UNT-Dallas highlighted Rice’s lackluster showing in their first home loss of the season.

Final Box | UNTD 69, Rice 68

Key takeaway | The Honeymoon is over

UNT-Dallas doesn’t have a logo on ESPN. The NAIA school launched it’s basketball program in 2014. For perspective, the kids in the stands watching on Thursday were around the same age as the Owls’ opponents program.

There were always going to be growing pains in the first year under a new head coach, but even in their previously ugly game against Alcorn State, they found a way to win. Even still, growing pains were going to come, it was just hard to imagine them striking in such a severe fashion as this.

Rice basketball is 8-4 on the season and 4-1 at Tudor Fieldhouse. The season is far from over, but this particularly game is going to sting for a while, as it should. It must serve as a reminder of where this program is coming from, a near-total reboot. For it to have gone off without a hitch was wishful thinking. Thursday’s events made that fact abundantly clear.

Up Next: vs Prairie View A&M (Sun, Dec. 22)

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Rice Basketball survives vs Alcorn State

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Rice Basketball had to rally from behind in the final minutes but found a way to overcome a red-shot shooting Alcorn State at home.

It took Rice basketball a while to get going on Monday evening against Alcorn State. The Owls swapped early leads through the first 10 minutes of play before a 10-3 run gave them some breathing room. They used the remainder of the first half to lengthen that lead, leaning on a combination of three balls from Alem Huseinovic, aggressive plays to the rim, and lots of free throws.

Rice led by nine at the break, but any thoughts of a comfortable nonconference win flew out of the window when Alcorn State matched Huseinovic’s sharpshooting with a flurry of threes of their own. They combined to shoot a staggering 47.6 percent from deep, with three different players knocking down multiple deep balls.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

A 12-0 run by the Braves ensured this would be a dogfight to the very end. The Owls led by 11 before their opponents got hot from the field putting the game in danger of a disastrous result — Alcorn State was 0-11 entering this contest — before Trae Broadnax and Kellen Amos came through with huge shots in the final minutes.

Broadnax got the game back within one with a jumper before Amos put Rice in front for good with a layup with 5.1 seconds to play. Alcorn State missed a long three attempt at the buzzer and Rice escaped with the win.

Final Box | Rice 77, Alcorn State 75

Key takeaway | Turn up the three

Rice basketball is still finding its form offensively, something head coach Rob Lanier has mentioned on multiple occasions. The defense continues to be stout, Monday’s issues with the three aside, and has been the backbone of most of their wins thus far. In this game they proved they can shoot their way out of trouble, too.

Huseinovic and Anglin led the team in threes coming into this game and continued to add to their advantage on the stat sheet. Huseinvoic (6-for-8) was lights out from deep, humbly crediting his teammates for the big performance. “They found me in open shots and I just knocked them down,” he said post game.

Anglin (3-for-8) made some pivotal threes, as as did Amos, to keep Rice in front when the Owls defense was in a bind.

The best cast scenario remains an elite defensive game interspersed with this kind of inspired shooting. In the mean time, winning ugly is the best way to win.

Up Next: vs UNT-Dallas (Thr, Dec. 19)

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Rice Basketball comes up short at Texas State

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Rice Basketball drew close on multiple occasions but could never catch up to Texas State, falling on the road.

A pair of free throws from Trae Broadnax followed by a jumper from Trey Patterson put Rice basketball in front on the road against Texas State on Sunday afternoon. The Owls’ lead endured for the early portion of the first half before a 6-0 Texas State run leveled the score at eight apiece and signaled a changing of momentum for the remainder of the contest.

Both sides traded baskets from that point onward but a flurry of three-pointers by Texas State would prove to be significant. The Bobcats hit six in the first half, accounting for nearly half of their made baskets. The Owls had to make do with just two triples and went into the half training by four points.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

Rice cut their deficit to one point on five separate occasions in the second half but never was able to break through and level the score. Each close call was answered by Texas State and while the Bobcats never built a commanding lead — their largest of the game was nine — it was enough to hold on for the victory.

Rice falls to 7-3 with the loss and 4-3 in games played away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Texas State 75, Rice 66

Key takeaway | A bit better on the boards

Rice basketball did a lot of things well against Texas State. Aside from a couple less threes and the already evident free throw inconsistencies, the Owls mirrored the Bobcats in shooting and outdid them in second chance points, blocks and steals. The one most glaring deficiency came on the boards, where Texas State finished with a commanding 37-28 advantage.

In a game that was within a possession or two for almost a full 40 minutes, those nine rebounds add up. Another rebound here or there can swing momentum and perhaps change the result of a close game like this. For the time being, this game should be considered the exception, not the rule. Rice was +49 in rebounds entering this game and had never been outrebounded by more than four.

Up Next: vs Alcorn State (Mon, Dec. 16)

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