Maryland's Rodney Rice has heard from Gonzaga since entering transfer portal

Rice was the third-leading scorer on a Sweet 16 team

Maryland Terrapins guard Rodney Rice (1) stands on court during the second half against the Florida Gators during a West Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Chase Center. | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Just days removed from the program's third appearance in the Sweet 16 in the last two decades, the Maryland Terrapins are in the thick of a mass exodus.

Five players from the 2024-25 squad have entered their names into the transfer portal in the wake of Kevin Willard's dramatic exit as the program's head coach, which started to formulate during the team's NCAA Tournament run and finally concluded with Willard accepting the Villanova Wildcats opening on Sunday morning.

Already operating without an athletic director, the Terrapins are now without a men's basketball head coach — and whoever does take over the roster will essentially be starting from scratch. Of the departing players, Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice would be major losses for Maryland, which is also losing reserves Braden Pierce, DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jayhlon Young to the portal. With the team's leading scorer, Derik Queen, likely set to pursue the NBA as a projected first-round pick in this summer's draft, the Terrapins will be without their top four scorers from a squad that went 27-9 and finished second in the Big Ten standings.

As for the departures, Gillespie is reportedly leaning toward the Tennessee Volunteers for his next school, according to On3.com. Rice, on the other hand, is apparently fielding interest from power conference programs across the country, and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are reportedly among the many teams he's "heard from" since entering the portal on Monday.

Maryland transfer Rodney Rice has heard from these schools since entering the portal, he tells @LeagueRDY:

Indiana
Washington
Miami
DePaul
Virginia
Stanford
UConn
Ole Miss
Villanova
NC State
Kansas State
USC
Providence
Oklahoma
Michigan
Ohio State
Louisville
Kansas
Tennessee… pic.twitter.com/ACFrwrsoXT

— Sam Kayser - 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) April 1, 2025

Rice could consider returning to the Terrapins next season depending on who the program brings in as the next head coach, according to Jeff Erman of InsideMDSports. Rice is a native of Clinton, Maryland, and 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.

Rice committed to play for the Virginia Tech Hokies, but after his first season with the team, he stepped away in October 2023 and transferred closer to home in March 2024. Rice only played in eight games with the Hokies.

Last season with Maryland, Rice averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He 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. Rice 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, per Sports-Reference.com.

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.

If the Bulldogs can bring in a knockdown shooter to play the wing spot, consider that an even bigger bonus. Nembhard, Hickman and Battle accounted for 65.8% of the team's made 3-pointers last season, and with Ben Gregg graduating and Dusty Stromer portaling, the Bulldogs are set to lose their top five 3-point shooters from 2024-25. That doesn't account for Steele Venters, though, as the 6-foot-7 wing knocked down 40.3% of his 3-point attempts during his three seasons with the Eastern Washington Eagles. Venters missed the past two seasons with an ACL injury and, most recently, an Achilles injury he suffered last fall, though he's set on making his Gonzaga debut this fall.