Travis Stockbridge ‘15 was recently named the General Manager of the
Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the single-affiliation NBA G League partner of the Houston Rockets.
Stockbridge, a Rice graduate who double-majored in Sport Management and Statistics, is only 25 years old. This makes him the youngest General Manager in Vipers team history, and the 2nd youngest GM ever in NBA G League. During the Vipers’ 2018-2019 G League Championship season, Stockbridge served as the Director of Basketball Operations.
“I’m extremely fortunate to get to do something I love every day,” Stockbridge said. “I have the opportunity to learn and grow in a great organization.”
Stockbridge first started his career with the Houston Rockets as a Basketball Operations intern during the fall of his freshman year at Rice. On top of being a full-time student, he spent every semester of his undergraduate career as an intern for the Rockets. Soon after graduation, Stockbridge was hired full-time as a Basketball Operations Coordinator.
Stockbridge credited Professor in Practice Tom Stallings and the Department of Sport Management for connecting him with the Rockets.
“Rice Sport Management helped me get a foot in the door in my dream field,” Stockbridge said. “The connections I made during my internship in college has set me up to be in the position I am today.”
Stockbridge offered advice to current Rice students wishing to pursue a career in basketball.
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“I’ve had the opportunity to learn, grow, and make mistakes,” Stockbridge said. “My best advice to anybody aspiring to work in basketball is to never get discouraged, never feel a task is too small for you, and never lose sight of the big picture. It takes a lot of time, energy, and especially luck to succeed.”
Samantha Quen, a senior from Scottsdale, Arizona, is double-majoring in Sport Management and Managerial Studies with minors in Business and Statistics.