Member of 'Crab Five' Receiving NC State Basketball Interest

The 2025-26 NC State basketball roster still has only a limited number of players. So, there's plenty of open space for head coach Will Wade and his staff to fill with talented transfers.

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While they’ve yet to land a commitment in the early stages of the transfer cycle, the Wolfpack recruiters continue to show interest in a long list of options, including a talented scoring guard who just wrapped up his season this past weekend.

On Tuesday, League Ready’s Sam Kayser reported that the NC State coaches have reached out to former Maryland guard Rodney Rice, one of the “Crab Five” who helped lead the Terps to the Sweet 16.

Wade and his cohorts aren't alone in eyeing Rice. He's also hearing from BYU, DePaul, Gonzaga, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Providence, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UConn, USC, Villanova, Virginia, and Washington.

The second-year collegian spent began his career at Virginia Tech as a reserve. He then thrived as a starter for Maryland, averaging 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 36 games this season while connecting on 37.4 percent of his 3-point attempts.

It’s important to note that Rice entered the portal around the same time his former Maryland coach, Kevin Willard, was announced as the new leader at Villanova, and Willard's Wildcats have already been in contact.

In other words, it’s entirely possible that Rice will follow Willard to Villanova. Nevertheless, Will Wade and the rebooted NC State basketball program must feel that the coveted transfer’s recruitment remains wide open.

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