Former Kansas, NC State wing MJ Rice joins Cape Fear Community College

Cape Fear Community College added MJ Rice to its 2025-26 men’s basketball roster, giving the Sea Devils a former Kansas and NC State wing with major-conference mileage and a chance to reset his career in NJCAA Region 10. The move is bigger than a routine roster note. It puts a player with top-tier recruiting pedigree into a junior-college setting where one productive season can change a program’s ceiling and a player’s future at the same time.

Cape Fear’s athletics site lists Rice on its men’s basketball bio page, while NJCAA Region 10 identifies him as a forward wearing No. 32. The school lists him as a guard/forward, and that versatility is exactly what makes the addition matter competitively. At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, according to ESPN’s recruiting profile, Rice brings enough size to defend on the wing and enough ball skill to create shot attempts when possessions tighten late in games.

His background explains why this is such a notable JUCO landing. ESPN rated Rice as a Class of 2022 prospect and attached a McDonald’s All-America Game accolade to his profile. A 2021 recruiting story had him ranked No. 15 nationally in ESPN’s Class of 2022 rankings when he chose Kansas. Sports-Reference lists his schools as Kansas and NC State, and says he is from Durham, North Carolina, with high school stops at Durham Academy, Oak Hill Academy in Virginia and Prolific Prep in California.

For Cape Fear, that résumé is the kind of addition that can change the tone of a season. A player who has already been through the pressure of Kansas basketball and the ACC at NC State can stabilize a lineup, handle bigger defensive assignments and give the offense a perimeter scorer who does not need a long runway to understand high-level game speed. Programs at this level do not often get a chance to add a player who has already lived on a national recruiting stage.

The timeline showed the move taking shape in mid-August 2025. Pack Insider reported on Aug. 13, 2025 that Rice had enrolled at Cape Fear Community College, and a Kansas City report dated Aug. 14, 2025 said he planned a basketball return at Cape Fear CC in 2025. For Rice, the junior-college route offers a real second chance. For Cape Fear, it brings a former high-major talent into the gym with enough pedigree to raise the standard from day one.