The USC Trojans were dealt a major blow on Wednesday when it was revealed that starting guard Rodney Rice would miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season due to season-ending surgery for a shoulder injury, as per Ryan Kartje of The LA Times.
Rodney Rice had been one of USC’s top players this season, but he has been sidelined since Nov. 25 due to said shoulder injury. The last game he played in was against Seton Hall, an 83-81 win for the Trojans. He had 13 points, two assists and one steal in that game in just about 20 minutes of play. He shot 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from the 3-point line.
It was during that game that Rice suffered the injury, and he exited early. Rice was in his first season at USC after entering the transfer portal following the 2024-25 season. He played last season at Maryland where he was among the better guards in the Big Ten.
This season, Rice had appeared in a total of six games for USC, at just about 34 minutes per game. He had been averaging a career-best 20.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.2 steals with splits of 41.1 percent shooting from the field, 38.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 74.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line. His 3-point percentage, assists and steals were also career-highs.
Rice began his college career at Virginia Tech in 2022-23, but was limited to only eight games due to various injuries. He sat out the 2023-24 season, then transferred to Maryland in 2024-25.
USC is currently 10-1, and 1-1 in Big Ten Conference play. Despite the Trojans’ solid start to the season, they are not currently ranked in the AP men’s basketball poll.