Kiki Rice is looking forward to the next UCLA mission.

The UCLA women’s basketball player Kiki Rice was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, honorable mention All-American and first-team All-Pac-12. She also helped lead UCLA to its first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade. UCLA was one of her top college choices from the beginning. Rice was the D.C. Gatorade Girls Soccer Player of the Year. She credits playing soccer with helping her footwork in basketball and keeping her in shape. Rice said she’s in peak condition by the time basketball season comes. The 5-foot-9 forward averaged 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a high school senior while shooting nearly 52% from the field and 38% from three-point range. She was named a McDonald’s All-American, Gatorade Player of the Year for Oregon. “I really like UCLA’s coaching staff, their style of play and the team’s success,” Rice said. “They develop their players and I feel like I can trust them to help me reach my goals.” “It’s an incredible honor to be named the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year,” Rice said. “This award has always been one of my goals, and I’m so grateful to have received it. UCLA is such a special place with so many amazing athletes, and I can’t wait to start my career there”, said Kiki. UCLA coach Cori Close has called Kiki a “game-changer.” Rice will have an opportunity to display her skills on one of the biggest stages in the sport. And she’s looking forward to it.