Gonzaga will hold Zoom call with Maryland transfer Rodney Rice

Rice set up in-person meetings with two other schools as well

Maryland Terrapins transfer guard Rodney Rice (1) has scheduled a Zoom call with Gonzaga that's set for Thursday, according to Jon Rothstein. | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The sweepstakes to land Maryland Terrapins transfer Rodney Rice are heating up.

After recently completing a Zoom meeting with the USC Trojans, the 6-foot-4 Rice will hold a Zoom call with the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Thursday, according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, who also reported that Rice is visiting the Villanova Wildcats on Thursday and Friday, followed by a visit with the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. Gonzaga was one of the numerous schools that reached out to Rice after he entered the transfer portal on March 31.

Rice averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists while playing in all 36 games last season, helping the Terrapins (27-9) reach their third Sweet 16 since cutting down the nets as national champions in 2002. Rice shot 37.4% from 3-point range on 5.9 attempts per game and knocked down 81.4% of his attempts from the charity stripe. He also ranked No. 13 in the Big Ten in win shares (4.8), which is an estimate of wins contributed by a player due to their offense and defense, perSports-Reference.com.

A native of Clinton, Maryland, Rice was a star at nearby DeMatha Catholic High School, a college preparatory school located in Hyattsville, Maryland, and the alma-mater of NBA talents Jerami Grant, Markelle Fultz and Jordan Hawkins. Rice was a four-star recruit and ranked among the top 100 high school seniors in the 2022 class before committing to the Virginia Tech Hokies. After one season in Blacksburg, Virginia, he took a step back from the program in October 2023 and transferred to Maryland in March 2024.

Maryland transfer Rodney Rice tells me that he's recently completed a zoom with USC and will also have a zoom with Gonzaga tomorrow.

Rice will also visit Villanova Thursdsay and Friday and Tennessee on Saturday and Sunday.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 9, 2025

Rice was one of the many Terrapins who entered their name into the transfer portal after their season ended with a loss to the eventual national champion Florida Gators in the Sweet 16, which was followed shortly after by Kevin Willard's decision to take the Villanova coaching job.

For Gonzaga, Mark Few and the coaching staff look to add depth to their backcourt this offseason with Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman and Khalif Battle all set to graduate this spring. More specifically, a versatile guard who can pair alongside the team's next floor general in waiting, Braeden Smith, the 6-foot-tall Colgate Raiders transfer who spent last season with the Zags as a redshirt player. Smith, a Seattle native, was the Patriot League Player of the Year in 2023-24.

At some point after the NCAA recruiting dead period ends Thursday, Gonzaga is set to host Izaiah Pasha, a 6-foot-4 transfer from the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, on an official visit. During a dead period, coaches are prohibited from having in-person contact with players, but players are still allowed to initiate contact with coaches through phone calls, emails, direct messages, etc.