BRONX, N.Y. – Mike Magpayo has announced his first transfer commitment as Fordham's head coach, signing former UC Riverside forward Rikus Schulte.
 
"I'm thrilled to add Rikus Schulte to our first roster here at Fordham," said Magpayo.  "Rikus already has experience in the A-10 as a freshman before he came to us at UCR. Rikus was our best defender and rebounder in the front court and has developed major skill over his year with us." 
 
Schulte, a 6-foot-9 native of Munster, Germany, played for Magpayo at UC Riverside as a sophomore in 2024-25.  He appeared in 33 of the team's 34 games, two of which were starts, and averaged 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per contest.  He reached double figures three times, including a season-high 11 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting performance at Santa Clara on Nov. 19.  His other two double-figure outings both came against UC Davis, scoring 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and grabbing five rebounds against the Aggies on Jan. 30 before posting 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting in a Feb. 13 road tilt. In the Highlanders' opening round NIT game at Santa Clara on March 18, Schulte sank four of his six field goal attempts to finish with nine points. 
 
Schulte began his collegiate career in the Atlantic 10, making 13 appearances for Davidson as a freshman in 2023-24.  He averaged 1.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.0 minutes per outing, shooting 46.2% from the floor and 40.0% from three-point range.
 
Before coming to the States, Schulte spent three seasons playing with Lokomotive Bernau in ProB, Germany's third division.  Schulte also competed with Alba Berlin, winning back-to-back NBBL Championships during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons and making three Euroleague appearances with the senior team in 2022. 
 
Schulte also has experience playing with the German national team, averaging 8.1 points and 5.9 rebounds at the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship.  In 2024, he averaged 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket.  He made his FIBA debut in 2018 at the U18 European Challengers, averaging 3.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per outing.