Tennessee Transfer Targets: A closer look at Maryland guard Rodney Rice
Tennessee Basketball landed its biggest target out of the NCAA Transfer Portal on Friday, when Maryland guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie committed to the Vols as their first addition out of the portal.
Rick Barnes and his staff didn’t have to go far to look for their next target. They stayed in the Maryland backcourt and in recent days have been targeting Maryland sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice, who is scheduled to visit Tennessee this weekend alongside Gillespie.
The 6-foot-4, 198-pound Rice, Gillespie’s teammates at Maryland, 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.
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.
Top 10
- 1New
Dan Lanning
Pressed for Nico comment
- 2Hot
No More Nico
Neyland removes QB pics from stadium
- 3Trending
Mario Cristobal
Warns team on holdouts
- 4
DJ Lagway injury
Florida QB's timeline updated
- 5
Derrion Reid
Alabama SF enters transfer portal
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“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.”
Tennessee has added two players out of the NCAA Transfer Portal so far
Barnes and his staff, with a handful of scholarship spots stills open, are tasked with rebuilding their entire backcourt, after losing six seniors in Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack, Jordan Gainey, Igor Milicic Jr. and Darlinstone Dubar.
Tennessee so far has added two players out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, with Gillespie signing with the Vols on Monday and Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey announcing his commitment on Sunday night.
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.
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.
“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,” 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.”
