Matthew Bartlett

2 weeks ago | attheroost.com | Matthew Bartlett

The whirlwind of Rice Athletic events hasn’t slowed down with as the academic calendar comes to a close. Rice football is adding transfers and Rice baseball is beginning a very important offseason. This month’s Q&A focuses on those two areas as well as providing a quick update on plans for The Roost Podcast this summer. Questions were edited briefly for clarity. Want to get your questions answered? Subscribe on Patreon for our monthly mailbag.

2 weeks ago | attheroost.com | Matthew Bartlett

For better or worse, Rice baseball head coach David Pierce has just endured the most chaotic months of his coaching career. When the spring began, he was an assistant at Texas State. A few short months later he was at the helm of a program someone else had built and which was careening toward a lost season. That Pierce was able to right the ship and get this team to the postseason was remarkable in itself.

2 weeks ago | attheroost.com | Matthew Bartlett

With their season on the line, Rice baseball came out on the offensive, loading the bases in the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead. Rice added another run in the second and two more in the third and looked to be in command with a 4-0 lead in their elimination game against FAU as JD McCracken returned to the mound for his third inning of work. McCracken recorded two quick outs before issuing back-to-back walks.

2 weeks ago | attheroost.com | Matthew Bartlett

For Rice baseball, things looked rather dire rather quickly in the opening game of the AAC Tournament against UTSA. After the Owls failed to score in the opening half inning, staff ace Davion Hickson gave up a solo home run and allowed two runners into scoring position, an inauspicious start against a team that had scored 33 runs in three games against the Owls this past weekend. Hickson would rebound, though, recording a strikeout to escape the jam.

3 weeks ago | attheroost.com | Matthew Bartlett

The field wasn’t finalized until the final weekend of the regular season, but now eight teams have secured their spots in the 2025 AAC Baseball Tournament. An automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and hopes of playing for a trip to the College World Series are at stake. The bottom two teams in the standings: Memphis and South Florida, will be watching from home. All games will be streamed on ESPN+ with the exception of the tournament championship, available on ESPN News.