On Tuesday, Virginia Tech men’s basketball head coach Mike Young announced guard Rodney Rice is leaving the program.
“Rodney Rice recently shared with me his desire to step away from our program. While his departure is unfortunate, we wish Rodney and his family all the best in the future,” Young said in a statement.
The 6-4, 205-pound guard from Clinton, Md., spent one season in Blacksburg, playing in just eight games and averaging 7.4 points per game. An ankle injury in August 2022 forced him to be away from the court until January, and after he made his debut at Syracuse on Jan. 11, he broke his finger three days later.
“I was just like, ‘Man, I can’t get a break,’” Rice told Tech Sideline in a September interview.
Rice returned over a month later against Miami and played in the final seven games of the season. Young said in August the former top-100 recruit had a “great summer.” Rice admitted in September that he dealt with mononucleosis in the offseason and lost weight but was starting to feel better.
However, he was not a full participant in the Hokies’ open practice in Cassell Coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 14 before the Wake Forest football game. A Virginia Tech spokesperson said then that Rice was working back to full speed and the program was being cautious after what happened last year.
Rice was an All-Met First Team selection as a senior in 2021-22 at DeMatha Catholic and was ranked as the third-best player out of Maryland in the class of 2022. Former Virginia Tech associate head coach Mike Jones, who moved on to Kevin Willard’s Maryland staff in April 2023, was Rice’s head coach in high school and played a major role in the recruitment process. Rice chose the Hokies over Louisville, Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgetown and Maryland, among others.
When he sat down with Tech Sideline in September, Rice did not mention the thought of transferring despite an injury-riddled freshman season. He had a positive attitude, ending his interview by saying, “I just want to play. That’s it. I didn’t play as much as I wanted to last year, so just playing all the games this year, that’s all I want.”
Per the NCAA transfer rules, Rice will have to sit out the 2023-24 season while he transfers. His decision leaves the Hokies with 12 scholarship players (out of a possible 13) for the upcoming season, which tips off on Monday, Nov. 6 vs. Coppin State in Cassell Coliseum. Tech now has another open scholarship for the next two years.
