After the recent announcement of a new baseball coach leading the Hanover Hawks next spring in Josh Gentry, the school’s athletic department will now turn to a new opening in the winter for the boys basketball team.
Rob Rice announced on his Instagram account on June 28 that he’ll be stepping away from the head coaching job he’s held for the past five years, citing a desire to spend more time with his family along with having increased responsibilities at the school.
In his statement, Rice called it “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
“Coaching at Hanover has always been a dream of mine,” Rice said in his statement. “It has been my true passion and hobby, and I have grown immensely thanks to my players, fellow coaches, and the many connections I’ve made along the way. Basketball has brought me an immeasurable amount of joy.
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“However, at this time, I need to step away from coaching. My leadership role at Hanover has increased—an opportunity I am incredibly grateful and excited for—while my four boys are at an age where they are very active in sports, and I am coaching them as well. I always say that family comes first, and this is the decision I need to make to best support mine. Still, I am going to deeply miss my basketball family.”
Rice has deep roots to Hanover High School’s history even before taking the reins of the basketball program. He was part of the school’s first graduating class in 2004, and as a basketball player he was a varsity captain and All-Conference standout that took his talents to Bridgewater College. His coaching career has taken him to multi-year stops at Mechanicsville High School (2011-2014) and Hermitage High School before a reunion at Hanover. Rice led the Panthers to a 20-5 record in 2016-17, his last season with the program, which ended in a Conference 11 Tournament title.
Starting with Hanover in 2021, Rice helped the Hawks continually improve to new heights, ending all five seasons with 10 or more wins. They most recently finished 13-8 with a loss to Monacan in the region quarterfinals.
They won postseason games in 2023 and 2025, beating Henrico and Huguenot to reach the Region 4B quarterfinals.
“The last five years have been nothing short of amazing,” Rice continued in his statement. “I’ve built strong, everlasting relationships with my players. Together as a program, we broke the school record for wins 3 times, won multiple playoff games, and won the county multiple times.
“Words cannot express how grateful I am to have been given the opportunity to lead this program. Thank you to every single player who put on that jersey over the past five years—I will always be here for each and every one of you. And to my coaching staff, thank you for standing by me and supporting me along this ride. I truly could not have done it without you.”
Rice finishes his Hanover coaching career with a record of 66-42.
