Maryland transfer guard Rodney Rice has Tennessee Basketball in final six
Tennessee Basketball is in the final six for transfer shooting guard Rodney Rice. The Maryland sophomore released his list of schools on social media on Thursday, with the Vols alongside Villanova, Auburn, Maryland, USC and Gonzaga.
Rice is currently visiting Villanova, where former Maryland coach Kevin Willard was hired, and is scheduled to visit Tennessee this weekend. Rice will visit the Vols alongside his former Maryland teammate and new Tennessee transfer signee Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
The 6-foot-4, 198-pound Rice averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 36 games this season, shooting 43.4% from the field and 37.4% from the 3-point line. He started 32 times in 36 games, averaging 31.1 minutes per game. He made 80 3-pointers on the season, going 80-for-214.
Gillespie was the first addition for the Vols out of the NCAA Transfer Portal when he committed Friday. He signed with Tennessee on Monday.
“A dynamic point who can really shoot the ball from deep and get his teammates involved, Ja’Kobi is a fearless competitor with a high basketball IQ,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “We expect him to help lead our team from day one and we feel quite fortunate to have him as a part of our program.”
Tennessee has signed two players from NCAA Transfer Portal
Gillespie started all 36 games at Maryland this season, averaging 14.7 points and 4.8 assists in 31.6 minutes per game while shooting 45.3% from the floor and 40.7% from the 3-point line, where he made 87 of 214 attempts.
Tennessee on Sunday night got a commitment from Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey, who signed with the Vols on Tuesday.
Carey, a 6-foot-8, 245-pound big man averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game in his one season at Vandy, after starting his college career at James Madison.
"Jaylen is a physical power forward with versatility," Barnes said, "who can play with his back to the basket or face up. He is a proven SEC competitor with excellent hands, superb offensive instincts, quality passing ability and a strong feel for the game.
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"Jaylen's style will complement the post players we already have and we cannot wait to get to work with him."
Rodney Rice averaged 14.8 points per game in Big Ten play
Over 20 games in Big Ten play, Rice averaged 14.8 points per game, shooting 44.1% from the field and 35.5% from three.
Rice scored a season-high 28 points against Mount St. Mary’s and had 26 against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament. He scored 23 at Indiana in January.
He scored 10 or more points in all but 10 games, scored 15 or more in 16 games and 20 or more in six games.
Rice, a native of Clinton, Maryland, and product of DeMatha Catholic High School, started his college career at Virginia Tech in 2023-24, but played just eight games with the Hokies — he averaged 7.4 points and 3.3 rebounds — before leaving the program, after an injury ended his freshman season.
“There were some things at Virginia Tech that did not align with what I wanted,” Rice told the Washington Post last year, after committing to Maryland. “So I talked about it with my family, and I think we made a sound decision.”
