Villanova Transfers: Maryland Starter Rodney Rice Hits the Portal

Maryland sophomore combo guard Rodney Rice entered the transfer portal on Monday, March 31, and with the recent departure of former Terrapins head coach Kevin Willard for Villanova, there’s an excellent chance Rice ends up following Willard to the Main Line.

Rice, who has two years of eligibility remaining, was the third leading scorer on a Terrapins squad that made the Sweet Sixteen this season, contributing 13.8 points per game. He did so through nailing 37.4 percent of his 214 three point attempts, also adding 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

Villanova will lose all five of their starters during the 2024-25 season to graduation this year, meaning they’ll have plenty of spots to fill.

Four of Willard’s top six players in terms of minutes per game this past season played guard, so even without an open competition for starting roles, the Wildcats would be able to find a slot for Rice. That said, he has yet to announce what schools he plans to visit, and could just want a fresh start somewhere else following the coaching change.

Other members of the Terrapins that Villanova could target include starter Ja’Kobi Gillespie, DeShawn Harris-Smith and Tafara Gapare (Maryland’s go-to options off the bench), and a handful of rotational players like 7 foot tall center Braden Pierce and a trio of guards: freshman Malachi Palmer, redshirt sophomore Chance Stephens and sophomore Lukas Sotell: to read more about them, click here.