The plan for Brice Sensabaugh had long been to wrap up his official visits in September, mull things over and make a college decision by early October. After visiting Ohio State – his father’s alma mater – on Sept. 18, Sensabaugh didn’t even need until the end of the month.
AGTG 101% #committed #gobuckeyes pic.twitter.com/IdxhGUg7BA
— Brice babysensa Sensabaugh (@bricepsensa) September 28, 2021
A four-star small forward and the No. 75 overall prospect in the class of 2022, the commitment from the Orlando, Florida, native gives Chris Holtmann his fourth top-100 recruit and fifth commit in this cycle, an addition that is sure to bolster a Buckeye class that already ranked top five in the country.
The Sensabaugh File
- Class: 2022
- Size: 6-foot-6, 230 pounds
- Pos: SF
- School: Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Florida)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: #75 overall, #21 small forward
Sensabaugh chose Ohio State over Alabama, Georgia Tech and Florida, the three other schools in the final four he announced back in August.
His high school coach at Lake Highland Prep, Ben Fratrik, told Eleven Warriors that the Buckeyes will be adding a versatile talent to their frontcourt.
“Playing wise, he’s really kind of unique. He’s big as hell, like he’s 6-foot-6, probably 225 or 230 pounds, but he’s got guard skills,” Fratrik said. “Really elite-level scorer, like he can score a lot of different ways. Legit NBA range on his jumper and really good feel, can pass, can play in pick-and-roll. But obviously at his size, if you try to guard him with a guard, you can post him and he’s comfortable in the post, he’s physical, he does not mind physicality. You can be really, really creative.”
Sensabaugh fits a need in the 2022 class at small forward, as the Buckeyes had already landed commitments from the nation’s No. 6-ranked point guard in Bruce Thornton, the No. 7 and No. 42-ranked shooting guards in Roddy Gayle Jr. and Bowen Hardman, and most recently, No. 11-ranked center prospect Felix Okpara in July.
| NAME | POSITION | OVERALL RANKING | POSITION RANKING | DATE OF COMMITMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOWEN HARDMAN | SG | No. 201 | No. 31 | MAY 13, 2020 |
| RODDY GAYLE | SG | No. 46 | No. 5 | NOV. 13, 2020 |
| BRUCE THORNTON | PG | No. 23 | No. 5 | NOV. 26, 2020 |
| FELIX OKPARA | C | No. 47 | No. 9 | JUNE 26, 2021 |
| BRICE SENSABAUGH | SF | No. 75 | No. 21 | SEPT. 28, 2021 |
Aside from Sensabaugh’s aforementioned family ties with the Buckeyes, including still having members of his dad’s side of the family living in Columbus, Sensabaugh also has extensive experience playing alongside Thornton on the AAU circuit with Each 1 Teach 1.
“Obviously it’s an incredible level of basketball. The track record and history of success at Ohio State really speaks for itself. He plays AAU with Bruce Thornton, who’s the point guard from Atlanta that’s coming to Ohio State,” Fratrik said. “They play on the same AAU team, so there’s a level of familiarity with Bruce and with the point guard and I think they play really, really well together. He’s crazy good by the way. So I think that helps, and then obviously his dad and his comfort level with Ohio State and his connection and history, I think it matters. I think having family members close probably helps.”
Sensabaugh and Thornton are both AAU teammates with five-star small forward Dillon Mitchell, who once appeared likely to land at Ohio State before reconsidering other options. With Sensabaugh, though, the Buckeyes get another one of the country’s top small forwards, and one that could present matchup problems to Big Ten defenders in the near future.
Sensabaugh missed his junior year of high school basketball with a meniscus injury, one that halted his rise up recruiting boards, but his return to the hardwood has seen him vault up the rankings over the summer and into the fall.
Fratrik compared his star player’s build to that of NBA legend Charles Barkley, but said Sensabaugh handles the ball on the wing much more and has the green light to shoot three-pointers “as often as he wants,” as the forward averaged around 40 percent from deep as a sophomore. On defense, Sensabaugh’s size may allow him to guard power forwards in the Big Ten.
“In college he’s gonna be able to guard four-men, but then he can shoot and play like a guard on offense,” Fratrik said. “So I think you’re gonna have a hard time guarding him with prototypical four-men, but he’s gonna be able to probably guard them. So I think that’s where the appeal is, is that he can be multi-positional, he can switch on ball screens defensively, but give you a little bit of a leg up on offense because the stuff that he’s able to do at his size is pretty unique.”
Ohio State’s 2022 class is now complete, giving Holtmann his largest high school class since taking over the reins in Columbus. With five players, Ohio State's 2022 class is set to be the Buckeyes’ largest high school recruiting haul since 2015.
