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The college basketball transfer portal has been humming even with the NCAA Tournament being played. There have been quite a few notable names that have entered the transfer portal, with the Maryland Terrapins being the most recent school to lose key players to the portal. Maryland guard Rodney Rice entered the transfer portal, as per Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, and Maryland guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie entered the transfer portal, as per Travis Branham of 247Sports.
Both Rodney Rice and Ja'Kobi Gillespie made the decision to enter the transfer portal following the departure of Maryland head coach Kevin Willard. Willard was hired as the new head coach at Villanova.
The departure of Willard was not really a surprise as it was hinted throughout Maryland's run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Maryland now loses two key players who were a part of the ‘Crab Five,' the nickname given to the Terrapins' starting lineup.
The 2024-25 season was Rice's first season with Maryland after transferring from Virginia Tech after his freshman season. He appeared in 36 games for the Terrapins, including 32 starts, at a little over 31 minutes per game. He averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists with splits of 43.4. percent shooting from the field, 37.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Rice was limited to only eight games in 2022-23 due to injuries, and he ended up sidelined for the entire 2023-24 season.
Gillespie was also in his first season with Maryland after transferring from Belmont. He played two seasons at Belmont before joining the Terrapins.
He appeared in 36 games this season, all starts, at a little over 31 minutes per game. He averaged 14.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.9 steals with splits of 45.3 percent shooting from the field, 40.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 86.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Both players should be highly sought after in the transfer portal.
