As the NCAA season kicks into high gear, standout players have started to make their marks for their respective teams. Among them is UCLA’s junior year guard, Kiki Rice, a 5’11” dynamo who’s been carving a path of excellence ever since her Highschool days. Hailing from Bethesda, this rising star has a story worth telling.

Coming from an Athletic Background Kiki was born in Bethesda to John and Andrea Rice both athletes who had played for Yale during their university days. John, Kiki’s father in fact played basketball for Yale from 1984 to 1988 where he met Andrea Rice, Kiki’s mother, who played tennis for the Yale Bulldogs. Together they had 2 children in Kiara “Kiki” Rice and her older brother Mateo who also played for the Yale men’s basketball team. However, let’s learn more about Kiki’s athletic life growing up.

From Sidwell Friends to global stardom: Kiki Rice’s remarkable rise

This pedigree can be said to be one of the prime reasons behind Kiki’s meteoric rice both on and off the court. In fact, recently Rice was ranked as no 24 in On3’s College Women’s Basketball NIL valuations, due to an impressive social media following of 89 K followers across various social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

Owing to the love for basketball instilled in her since childhood Kiki kept on growing her off-the-court presence along with her on-court performance. This led her to acquire various NIL deals from brands like Neutrogena and StarKist.

On the court, Kiki’s basketball journey began in Washington, D.C. where she attended Sidwell Friends School. This is where she established herself as one of the top recruits in the nation by averaging 19.2 points, while grabbing 9.4 rebounds, and making 6.6 assists per game, as a freshman, whilst leading her team to the state semifinals.

Kiki would also later replicate this success in her sophomore year as well where she saw even greater heights while averaging 26.8 points and grabbing 10.7 rebounds, in the season.

However, Rice’s junior year was disrupted by the pandemic, which forced her to adapt and focus on her growth away from the court. When she returned for her senior season, Kiki swept in like a hurricane and led her high school, the Sidwell Friends to an undefeated 28–0 record which gained her a #2 overall national ranking by ESPN.

All the while averaging 15.8 points while grabbing seven rebounds, in fact, her performance would lead her team to win its first DCSAA Class AA title.

This stupendous performance would also earn her honors like the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year and the Naismith High School Player of the Year and further justify her number 2 overall ranking given to her by ESPN.

This would lead Rice to reflect, on her early influences, in an interview with the daily bruin where she stated, “It was something at a young age I was surrounded by. My brother and my dad played, so I wanted to do kind of the same things that my brother did.”

Her determination was evident as she began playing against older competition, realizing her unique potential. “That’s when I realized, OK, I’m playing on girls’ teams and I’m playing up, and I’m still a lot better than a lot of these girls out there,” she shared.

Beyond high school, Rice thrived on the global stage, earning three gold medals with USA Basketball. After a long pandemic-induced hiatus, she returned in style at the 2022 FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship, averaging 14.3 points on 49% shooting and claiming tournament MVP honors. Her versatility extended to 3×3 basketball, where she played a key role in securing gold for the U.S. at the FIBA U18 World Cup.

Kiki Rice’s historic signing with UCLA

In November 2021, Rice would announce her commitment to UCLA, becoming the highest-ranked recruit ever in the program’s history. This decision came after a long session of deliberation which involved her choosing the Bruins over star programs like UConn Stanford, Arizona, and Duke.

UCLA head coach Cori Close described Rice’s mentality, saying, “She’s a great testament to when you’re intentional about growth, when you have great work ethic, when you surround yourself with great people and you maintain a teachable spirit – look what you can do.”

These statements would soon come true during Rice’s collegiate debut in the 2022–23 season where, she averaged 11.6 points, while grabbing 4.5 rebounds, and made 3 assists per game. Owing to this Kiki would soon make her own place on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.

And well lets just say it was well deserved, as Rice would score a season-high 22 points in an upset over Stanford and a near triple-double against UConn in her freshman year.

Rice’s rise extends off the court. In 2022, she became the first athlete to sign an NIL deal with the Jordan Brand in college. On the court, Rice has continued to grow. In her sophomore year, she scored 13.2 points and grabbed 5.7 rebounds per game across 34 games thereby improving her averages across the board.

Off the court, too she attained incredible success as her influence got a significant boost as she became part of  ESPN’s docuseries Full Court Press, which followed Kiki and other NCAA stars such as Caitlin Clark throughout their seasons.

Although Kiki’s story is story is far from finished, her impact is undeniable. Now, as the NCAA world watches her every move, Rice remains focused on one goal: taking UCLA to unprecedented heights.