Skip to main content
NC State

NC State guard MJ Rice to sit the rest of season, Pack to apply for redshirt waiver

image_6483441 (3)by: Noah Fleischman01/24/24fleischman_noah
n-c-state-announces-mj-rice-will-sit-remainder-of-2023-2024-season-must-submit-waiver-for-redshirt
Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — NC State sophomore guard MJ Rice will sit the remainder of the season, according to a press release from the program on Wednesday evening. 

The Wolfpack will seek a waiver to have the 2023-24 season serve as a redshirt for Rice. He will continue to be around the team and participate in team activities, but Rice will not play in any of the remaining contests this season, according to a team spokesperson. 

Rice was present during the Wolfpack’s pregame warmups at Virginia when the announcement was made. 

The Kansas transfer played in nine games for the Wolfpack. He averaged 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.9 minutes a contest this season. 

Rice, a Henderson, N.C., native, missed part of the preseason workouts and the team’s first seven games due to personal reasons, and he made his Wolfpack debut against Maryland Eastern Shore on Dec. 6. Rice scored a season-best 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in that contest. 

“He gives us another dimension,” NC State coach Kevin Keatts said after Rice’s debut with the Pack. “We’ve been playing with six of our new dudes, now we add the seventh. I’m happy for him. He’s going to help us, he’s going to be really good for us.”

Rice logged his season high in minutes with 16 against UT-Martin on Dec. 12. He last played in a game at Louisville, and he has not appeared in any of the past two contests. 

Rice, a former McDonald’s All-American, transferred to the Wolfpack from Kansas in April. He was the No. 29 overall prospect in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. 

As a freshman with the Jayhawks, Rice averaged 2.2 points in 7.5 minutes a game across 23 contests before he returned to his home state.

You may also like