PULLMAN — Myles Rice is trading one shade of crimson for another.
The former Washington State guard is transferring to Indiana, he shared on social media on Saturday, ending his three-season run at WSU.
Rice, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and an all-conference first-team selection last season, led the Cougars to one of their best seasons in program history.
A redshirt freshman, Rice averaged 14.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists, helping the Cougars break their 16-year NCAA tournament drought, making the second round last month.
Rice’s departure is the costliest loss for WSU, which bids farewell to its best shot-creator and playmaker. Rice, an Atlanta-area native, was one of 10 Cougars to enter the transfer portal after last season ended. His new school is about 520 miles from home, while WSU is roughly 2,400 miles away.
Rice, the second WSU transfer to find a new home (Dylan Darling landed at Idaho State earlier in the week), saw his three-point shooting numbers dip last season. He shot just 25% from deep in conference play, but all season he supplied valuable shot creation for the Cougars, who also said goodbye to former coach Kyle Smith last month.
Smith’s replacement, former Eastern Washington coach David Riley, will need to find another player with Rice’s skill set. Five of his former Eagles players — Cedric Coward (who said WSU is his front-runner), Dane Erikstrup, Ethan Price, LeJuan Watts and Casey Jones — are all in the portal as well.