Illinois head coach Brad Underwood has had a strong past couple of months on the recruiting front, but no matter whether your last name is Self, Izzo or Pearl, you're not going to land every recruit. Underwood and the Illini relearned that lesson Thursday when four-star forward Colin Rice committed to Nebraska.
NEWS: Four-star 2026 forward Colin Rice has committed to Nebraska basketball.Rice is entering his senior year at Northwest high school in Waukee, Iowa. pic.twitter.com/tpxkoTip6R
— Hail Varsity (@HailVarsity) July 24, 2025
Rice, a senior from Waukee, Iowa, ultimately chose Nebraska over Illinois and fellow finalists Northwestern and Iowa. A 6-foot-8 forward, Rice checks in just outside the top 100 and ranks No. 33 at his position and No. 2 in the state, per Rivals.
A few lites of the newest #Nebrasketball commit. https://t.co/jydeIhWoel https://t.co/D4JWuKm0U2 pic.twitter.com/zbkcLYYQuU
— Brandon Gries (@RightyBrandon) July 24, 2025
Rice was set to visit Champaign next week, but you can probably scratch that engagement from his itinerary. Rice hasn't officially canceled his visit, but we would be surprised if he follows through on the trip.The signing was a coup for Fred Hoiberg. Nebraska might not be a great threat to Illinois come next season, but let's not forget that the Cornhuskers took one off the Illini last season – and Hoiberg, a former NBA rotation player, is slowly but surely putting together a solid program over in Lincoln.
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