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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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BREAKING: Rice Basketball parts ways with head coach Scott Pera

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Effective immediately, Scott Pera has been relieved of duties as the head coach of Rice Basketball following a 10-21 season, his seventh at South Main.

The Scott Pera era of Rice basketball has officially come to an end, the program announced on Thursday, the day following the end of the Owls’ season with a conference tournament loss to Wichita State. Pera leaves Rice with a 96-127 record across seven seasons, finishing 11-21 in his most recent campaign.

Athletic Director Tommy McClelland issued this statement:

“I appreciate the efforts of Scott and his staff and their dedication to their student-athletes, but over the course of this season, it became apparent to me that a change in the leadership of our men’s basketball team was needed for it to become a championship-caliber program. President DesRoaches and the Board of Trustees have shown a great desire for this program to take its place among the best in the AAC and agreed with my assessment that a coaching change was the appropriate step towards reaching that goal.”

The move isn’t surprising, considering how this season has transpired. Rice went 5-13 in American Athletic Conference play, winning just one conference game at Tudor Fieldhouse, a feat they didn’t achieve until February 24 against East Carolina. The team was 6-10 at home and had won more than two consecutive games just once all season, a December sweep of Incarnate Word, Northwestern State and Prairie View A&M.

Pera finished above .500 just twice in his seven years, going 15-13 in 2020-2021 and 19-16 in 2022-2023 as he guided the team to a CBI Tournament appearance and a postseason win, a first-round victory over Duquesne.

With veteran leaders Max Fiedler and Travis Evee out of eligibility and the program moving in the wrong direction, it was evident a change in leadership was necessary. Rice will immediately begin a national search for Pera’s replacement. Van Green will take over as the Owls’ interim head coach during the transition period.

** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **



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Rice Athletics: Top 10 Moments from 2023

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2023 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 women’s basketball beats BYU in WNIT

Getting back to the postseason was something near the top of the priority list for head coach Lindsay Edmonds and Rice women’s basketball. Not only did the Owls achieve that, qualifying for the NIT, but they were able to go on the road and get a win over a very good BYU team.

9. Forbes named Top 30 NCAA Women of the Year Award

Forbes was on pace to be one of the most decorated women’s track athletes ever to run for Rice before sickness abruptly ended her collegiate career. An excellent student an ambassador for the university, seeing Forbes continue to receive honors well after her athletic career had come to an end was extraordinary and much deserved.

8. Rice football inks another historic signing class

For the fourth time in the past five years Rice football head coach Mike Blomgren signed the No. 1 recruiting class in program history. Despite only adding 13 players in this cycle, the Owls made sure their limited scholarship slots were well utilized, bringing in a Texas-centric crop of high school athletes with five impactful transfers.

7. Field Athlete of the Year, times two

One of the final Conference USA honors before Rice made the move to the AAC, the Owls claimed not one, but two Field Athlete of the Year awards. Alexander Slinkman took home the men’s honor for his prowess in the pole vault. Tara Simpson-Sullivan took care of the women’s side of things, dominating the weight and hammer throw events.

6. Rice baseball has three players drafted

Justin Long (7th Round), Hayden Durke (13th) and Matthew Linskey (16th) heard their names called in the 2023 MLB Draft. While the Owls work to return to their winning history at Reckling Park, it’s encouraging to see the pro pipeline continue to produce results.

5. Rice basketball upsets North Texas in Denton

North Texas and Grant McCasland had been the standard in Conference USA for years and Rice basketball hadn’t faired well against the Mean Green, losing 10 of the last 11 by an average of 25 points. To win, and to win by double-digits on the road, was one of the most significant victories of head coach Scott Pera’s tenure.

4. Rice Volleyball beats USC

There have been a lot of high points for Rice volleyball under head coach Genny Volpe, but few individual matches were as impressive as a win over No. 22 USC in straight sets. It was the first sweep of ranked team for Rice since 2009 and the fans in Tudor Fieldhouse had the arena rocking the whole way.

2. Rice football goes bowling once again

Although the results of the SERVPRO First Responders Bowl left much to be desired, reaching back-to-back bowl games is a feat that has only happened on two other occasions in program history. The next step will be finding a way to win and seeing if the Owls can improve their win total once again — but those are questions for 2024.

2. Tommy McClelland named Athletic Director

Following the departure of Joe Karlgaard for the private sector, Rice president Reginald Desroches named Tommy McClelland the Owls’ newest Athletic Director. McClelland has already bolstered the athletic staff and discussed potential renovation projections at Rice Stadium. Having someone with his track record to guide Rice into the AAC will be crucial for all the Owls’ programs.

1. Rice football upsets Houston, wins Bayou Bucket

For the first time since 2010, Rice football won the Bayou Bucket, defeating rival Houston in overtime. The win would eventually become crucial for the Owls’ bowl eligibility hopes and serve as the only Power 5 win by any American Conference team in the regular season. This singular victory will go down as one of the most impactful wins for Rice football in quite some time.

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?



Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Can Scott Pera elevate Rice Basketball? November Q&A

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With football season winding down, Rice basketball was atop your questions for this month’s Q&A, specifically current head coach Scott Pera.

It’s been a tough start for Rice basketball this season, its seventh under the leadership of head coach Scott Pera. The Owls are 1-5 and have yet to finish within 10 points of a D1 team in five tries. Granted, the schedule has been grueling, but nevertheless, frustrations are understandable. This month’s Q&A focuses on Pera’s time at South Main and what’s next for him and the program.

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Rice Basketball to face Duquesne in first round of 2023 CBI Tournament

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Rice basketball has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2023 CBI Tournament and will play Duquesne in the first round.

Rice basketball is postseason bound. After falling to UAB in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament, the Owls have accepted a bid to the College Basketball Invitation Tournament (CBI). The Tournament will take place from March 18 to 22 with all games at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL.

This is the Owls’ third appearance in the CBI. Rice first played in the 2017 tournament, defeating San Francisco in the opening round before falling to Utah Valley in the quarterfinals. Last year Rice went down to the wire against 3-Seed Ohio in the opening round, taking a lead with five seconds to play, only to watch it crumble on a buzzer-beating shot from the Bobcats that sent Rice home.

Opening round games will be played on Mar. 18 and Mar. 19 with the remaining rounds taking place over the next three days. Should a team play on the second day of opening round games and advance to the finals, they would play four games in four days.

Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera released this statement regarding the news:

“We are excited to be heading back to Daytona Beach and participate in the CBI in back-to-back years. We had a good, but too short, experience last year. For our program to get to back-to-back postseasons is another barrier we have broken down as we continue to grow Rice Basketball and head into the American Athletic Conference next year.”

The entire field was announced on Selection Sunday, following the release of the NCAA Tournament and NIT Brackets. Here is the full CBI bracket. Should Rice advance past the first round, the Owls would play the winner of the first round game between Southern Utah and North Alabama.



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