Maryland guard Rodney Rice is expected to visit Tennessee basketball this weekend as a potential transfer, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The source was granted anonymity because Rice has not made his plans public.
The 6-foot-4 Rice averaged 13.8 points last season playing alongside Vols transfer commit Ja’Kobi Gillespie. He shot 37.4% on 3-pointers with 80 made threes. Rice played his first season at Virginia Tech in 2022-23, but played in only eight games due to injury. He left the Hokies before the 2023-24 season.
Tennessee has signed two transfers in Gillespie and former Vanderbilt forward Jaylen Carey.
Gillespie averaged 14.7 points and 4.8 assists for the Terrapins, who reached the Sweet 16. He shot 40.7% on 3-pointers and made 87 threes, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors.
Gillespie is a Greeneville, Tennessee, native. He played his first two seasons at Belmont before transferring to Maryland. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 12.9 points and 3.7 assists in two seasons at Belmont. He starred as a sophomore for the Bruins, breaking out to average 17.2 points and 4.2 assists.
The Vanderbilt transfer averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 33 games, including one start. He averaged 9.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in SEC play. He announced his commitment on social media.
Carey’s role fluctuated throughout the season with the Commodores, but he had his best games against Tennessee. He had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double on Jan. 18. He scored 18 points at UT on Feb. 15 to match his season high.
The Vols have four returning scholarship players in guard Bishop Boswell and forwards J.P. Estrella, Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips. They have three incoming freshmen in four-star forward DeWayne Brown II, four-star guard Amari Evans and three-star guard Troy Henderson.
Tennessee has used the transfer portal as well as any team in college basketball the past two offseasons. Dalton Knecht and Chaz Lanier are among the biggest portal success stories in college basketball. Jordan Gainey, Igor Milicic Jr. and Okpara have been key players for Tennessee as well out of the portal.
