Four-star forward Colin Rice is a priority target for Nebraska basketball in the 2026 class and recently took an official visit to Lincoln to hear more from Coach Fred Hoiberg and his staff.
Rice holds offers from several schools including Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Illinois and Northwestern. Iowa City was the first place he visited, followed by Nebraska with Northwestern still to come. He received offers from both Iowa and Nebraska on May 1.
Born in Waukee, Iowa, the 6-foot-8, 180-pound forward attends Northwest High School where he earned Class 4A all-tournament team honors after leading the Wolves to a runner-up finish at state as a junior. Rice averaged 12.5 points on 53.6% from the field (37.8% from 3) and 78% from the foul line, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 bocks and 1.3 steals, helping lead the Wolves to a 23-4 record.
He also plays summer ball for Martin Brothers on the Under Armour Association circuit.
After visiting Nebraska, Rice said that he really enjoyed his visit.
“The Nebraska visit was great,” Rice told Hail Varsity at the Midwest Basketball Showcase. “The people there are really awesome. I love Fred, I love Nate (Loenser). I’ve known them for a while now. I think this tournament was probably the one year-anniversary of them starting to talk to me, which is pretty cool to think about, a full-circle moment, now I’m on an official visit saying, ‘Hey, I might go here.’”
The ability to remain honest and transparent is a factor that Rice said he liked when talking to the Nebraska coaches and staff.
“I like their honesty with me,” Rice said. “I know I can trust them, things that they say. They’ve been through this. Fred knows what he’s doing, Nate knows what he’s doing. They’re really smart people there and they have a plan for me. It’s always good to go to a spot where you know what they’re going to use you as.”
During his visit, Hoiberg showed Rice clips of former Huskers Bryce McGowens and Sam Griesel to give him an idea of the role the staff has planned for him if he were to choose Nebraska.
During his visit, Hoiberg and the staff made it clear what Rice would be doing and talked about the success of previous Husker players Bryce McGowens and Sam Griesel.
“They showed me a lot of them, and showed how my size and versatility can be used there to handle the ball and be really good with scoring,” Rice said. “Kind of used around the clock, be used for everything but still not taking away from what I’m good at.”
Up next, Rice will visit Northwestern at the end of June. He said that he’s hoping to make his decision soon but that he doesn’t want to rush the process.
“Hopefully make a decision in July,” Rice said. “If that’s early July the better, but if it’s not, then we can wait. I can make the decision when I feel comfortable. I’m not going to make it until I feel comfortable, but hopefully after Northwestern I will have a pretty good idea.”
