Waukee Northwest’s Colin Rice (24) takes the ball down the court on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, at Valley High School. © Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Waukee Northwest forward Colin Rice was in attendance for Iowa State’s 74-57 victory over No. 9 Kansas last week for his first game day visit to Hilton Coliseum.
The 6-foot-8, in-state prospect is rising in the ranks of the 2026 class and is on Iowa State’s radar as it continues to build its group for the recruiting cycle.
“It was a great game to go to,” Rice said. “There’s something special about Hilton.”
It was Rice’s second visit to Ames. He was on campus over the summer of 2024, as well.
Rice and Iowa State have had ongoing conversations, and meanwhile he’s garnered offers from Drake, Northern Iowa, Murray State, St. Louis and North Dakota State.
“They’ve been kind of calm – just lowkey stuff,” Rice said of his talks with the staff. “They like how I play. They like how I play defense. They think I’m a fit, I’ve just got to keep getting better and hopefully something will come of it.”
Rice says that they want to see him get stronger and be more physically ready for college basketball.
Iowa State took exceptional notice of Rice’s defense, too.
“I think mostly recently – I’ve always been gifted with being able to move side-to-side and being so tall, I can guard every position,” Rice said. “I take pride in it and it’s starting to show.”
The Waukee Northwest star will turn his focus to the high school court for the remainder of the season as he and his team chase a state championship.
“Just to win it all,” Rice said of his goals. “I think we’ve got a really good team with a lot good pieces and I’ll just do what I need to do to help our team win, whatever it is.”
