By Amanda Scurlock for Los Angeles Sentinel
Originally published March 26, 2026
UCLA senior guard Kiki Rice has been a key contributor to the UCLA women’s basketball team while being a high-performing student. Rice was one of seven Bruins women’s basketball players to be named on the Winter Academic All-Big Ten Team.
The first two rounds of the NCAA tournament were her last two games competing at Pauley Pavilion as a student.
“You’re not guaranteed two games at your home at the end of your season, so it’s great that we have been able to earn that,” Rice said. “It’s crazy, but grateful for all the times, memories that I have been able to make in Pauley and hope to finish it out on a great note with this team.”
In their first-round, 96-43 victory over the California Baptist Lancers, Rice went 10-10 from the free-throw line. She ultimately scored 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“Kiki (Rice) is such a perfectionist and I just want her to feel free to go for it and she’s been doing that all year,” said Cori Close, UCLA women’s head coach. “What I love is, the higher the stakes, the tougher the moment, the more reliable she is.”
Rice scored in double digits throughout the Big Ten Tournament and led UCLA with 17 points in their semifinal 72-62 win against the Ohio State Buckeyes. After helping the Bruins win a second consecutive Big Ten championship, Rice earned the Most Outstanding Player award.
Rice is second on the team in scoring and rebounding, with 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game during this season. She hit a season-high of 25 points against Minnesota in January. Her efforts have helped the Bruins win the Big-10 in-season championship.
Along with being a strong presence for the Bruins, Rice is a four-time gold medalist for Team USA.
While being a highly competitive athlete, Rice has earned awards for her academic achievements. In 2025, Rice was named on the Academic All-America First Team.
She was also a runner-up for the 2025 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Female Athlete of the Year. The award is for women of color with at least a 3.5 GPA. As a junior, Rice had a 3.85 GPA.
After reaching the Final Four for the first time in program history, Rice earned the NCAA Elite Scholar-Athlete Award, or the Elite 90. The award is given to the student with the highest cumulative GPA at the Finals site for every NCAA championship.
Rice said that academics were one of the reasons why she chose UCLA.
“I’ve definitely been intentional to take advantage of the professors, the classes, all the education that I can get here. It’s tough. It’s not easy at times,” Rice said. “We have a great academic advisor, Andrew Garcia, who travels with us. He helps us plan classes. He’ll reach out to professors for us, so that support, those kind of people are really, really crucial to all of us in terms of balancing everything.”
