Three months after the reinstatement of Rice’s diving team, athletic director Tommy McClelland announced a second sport coming to South Main in the near future. Rice will have a women’s golf team starting in the 2026-27 academic year.
The Washington Commanders selected Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey with the 100th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. McCaffrey was the final pick in the third round, as well as the final pick on the second day of the draft. He’ll compete for a prominent role in the wide receiver room, potentially slotting in as their starting slot receiver alongside Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson.
It’s not uncommon to find yourself walking to Reckling Park to watch the baseball team or to the recreational fields to play soccer. However, Division I and intramural sports are only a sliver of what the greater Rice community takes part in. From cricket to mixed martial arts to milk miles (yes, milk miles), students engage in a variety of sports that are a testament to their past pastimes, new endeavors and the need to destress.
As I sit down to write this farewell column, I can’t help but feel a whirlwind of emotions swirling within me. It feels like just yesterday that I nervously clicked the “Join Meeting” button on Zoom in early August of my freshman year to express my interest in joining the sports section of the Rice Thresher. Daniel Schrager and Ben Baker-Katz, the sports editors in my freshman year, welcomed me with open arms, encouraging me to write for the Thresher. Little did I know that this initial encounter would mark the beginning of an incredible journey that has shaped my college experience in ways I could have never imagined.
Jack Riedel, a senior infielder for Rice’s baseball team and Houston native, transferred to Rice after a freshman season at the University of North Carolina. In his senior year, he is currently leading his team with 11 home runs and 25 RBIs.
Positive energy percolated throughout the Rice football program following their spring game Saturday, April 13. Perhaps no player encapsulated this energy more than senior running back Dean Connors, who opened his postgame press conference by enthusiastically playing New York Times games. Fresh off a six-carry, three-catch performance, he completed the Wordle in three attempts (the word was “STEEL”) and the Mini Crossword in 1:22.
As Marla Dahlin finished her first lap around the bike track early Saturday afternoon, she could hear chants coming from the Wiess College tent.
Five players from the men’s basketball program entered the transfer portal since head coach Scott Pera’s dismissal March 14. The group of potential transfers is headlined by freshman forward Keanu Dawes, a former four-star recruit, and sophomore guard Mekhi Mason, who has reportedly engaged in conversations with at least a dozen Power 5 programs. Other transfers include sophomore forward Andrew Akuchie, junior guard Cameron Sheffield and sophomore guard Camp Wagner.
Both Rice tennis teams entered this week ranked. The men are the 51st-best team in the nation and the women are the 68th-best team in the nation as ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Sophomores Alexa Vela and Brayden Bowin often golf at Memorial Park, down the road from Rice campus. The two sport management and business majors established the Rice golf club on Feb. 14 of this year. According to them, their leadership reflects a vision that seeks to broaden the appeal of golf, making it more accessible and meaningful to a diverse group of people.
In an arena with more than double the capacity of Tudor Fieldhouse, Rice women’s basketball forward Malia Fisher admitted that at one point the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La., was so loud she couldn’t hear herself think. “It was a different environment, but you get used to it fast and then you just kind of acknowledge it and put it out of your mind,” Fisher, a junior, said. “That's what we did.”
Less than two weeks after parting ways with head coach Scott Pera, Rice Athletics announced they have hired Rob Lanier as the program’s 26th head coach. Lanier was previously the head basketball coach at Southern Methodist University, a position he was dismissed from three days ago, on March 21.
Junior Arielle Hayon and sophomore Ella Dyson represented the Rice swim team at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga., this past week from March 20-23. The two swimmers competed in five events.
The Houston Roughnecks, one of eight teams in the newly-merged United Football League, begin their inaugural season at Rice Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Standard tickets start at $22 for the public but are available for university students and faculty at $10.
Last weekend, the women’s track and field team hosted the 41st Victor Lopez Classic track meet at Rice’s own Wendel D. Ley Track. Following the high school division of the competition, the men’s and women’s collegiate track teams started their events on Friday, March 22, and competed through March 23. The Rice men’s team posted 14 podium finishes with four event titles while the women’s squad finished the meet with 12 top-three performances and another four event titles.
Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds’ jaw dropped as her players, family and fans cheered and danced around her. The 14th-seeded Owls saw their name pop up on the big screen as the first-round opponent to No. 3 Louisiana State University in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Rice men’s basketball head coach Scott Pera has been dismissed, athletic director Tommy McClelland announced March 14.
