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Maryland guard Rodney Rice reportedly schedules visit with USC

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•04/14/25•

GrantRamey

Rodney Rice | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
(Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images) Mar 5, 2025; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Rodney Rice (1) dribbles in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Center.

Maryland shooting guard Rodney Rice has reportedly scheduled a visit at USC for Wednesday, coming off back-to-back visits to Villanova and Tennessee.

Rice visited the Vols alongside his former Maryland teammate and now Tennessee point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who signed with the Vols last week. Rice on Thursday released a list of his final six schools, which included the Vols alongside Villanova, Auburn, USC, Gonzaga and Maryland.

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. 

Both Gillespie and Rice left Maryland after head coach Kevin Willard left for Villanova.

Tennessee has multiple roster spots to fill for 2025-26

Tennessee so far has added two players out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, with Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey following Gillespie.

The Vols still have multiple slots to fill with just four players scheduled to return (guard Bishop Boswell, forward JP Estrella, forward Cade Phillips and forward Felix Okpara) on top of three additions for the 2025 recruiting class (guard Amari Evans, guard Troy Henderson and center Dewayne Brown).

The 6-foot-4 Rice, Gillespie’s teammate and roommate at Maryland this season, averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists, showing 43.4% from the field and 37.4% from the 3-point line. He visited the Vols alongside Gillespie. 

“They want me in the backcourt with Ja’Kobi,” Rice told Volquest after his visit to Tennessee. 

“We’ve got experience playing with each other,” Rice added of Gillespie. “We’re going to have a good team, a winning team. (Tennessee is) trying to make a Final Four push.”

‘I want to win. I want to get past where we got this year.’

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. 

He’s a Greeneville, Tenn. native, who started his college basketball career at Belmont, averaging 17.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals in 31.4 minutes per game as a sophomore at Belmont in 2023-24.

Rice and Gillespie helped lead Maryland to the Sweet 16 this season, before the Terps fell to eventual national champion Florida. Tennessee has been to back-to-back Elite Eights, coming up one win short of a Final Four after losses to No. 1 seeds in Purdue and Houston.

Eric Musselman went 17-18 in his first year at USC, after spending the previous five seasons at Arkansas.

“(Winning is) important to me,” Rice said. “I want to win. I want to get past where we got this year. So winning is important.”

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