BRICE BOOM! Four-star forward Brice Sensabaugh commits to Ohio State

The fifth-rated recruiting class in the country got noticeably better on Tuesday afternoon, with 4-star Orlando-native Brice Sensabaugh (Lake Highland Prep) committing to Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound small forward is the No. 75 player in the country, as well as the No. 15 player in Florida and the No. 21 small forward in the nation. He is the first (and likely the last) forward in Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class, which also includes three guards and a center.

Sensabaugh flew up recruiting boards with his play this summer during the AAU season, playing alongside current and now-future teammate Bruce Thornton on their travel team, Each One Teach One.

“They liked me and Bruce [Thornton] and how we play together,” Sensabaugh told Rivals this summer. “I’m actually from Ohio. They have a top recruiting class already with Bruce going there. I was on a zoom with them for like two hours the other night and learned a lot about them.”

Sensabaugh’s climb up the recruiting rankings saw him go from the No. 254 player in the country in early August all the way up to No. 75 today. He earned an additional star from 247Sports’ recruiting database, and is now Ohio State’s fourth four-star recruit in the class, alongside Thornton, Roddy Gayle Jr., and Felix Okpara.

At 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, he is already big enough to compete at the college level, but will certainly need some polishing before he’s truly able to take advantage of his unique size and skillset combo at the college level. Ohio State was drawn to Sensabaugh early on, even before his recruiting picked up later in the summer. The Buckeyes offered him when he was still a three-star recruit, partially because of his rare mix of size and shooting.

Much like current Ohio State star E.J. Liddell, Sensabaugh’s large frame does not stop him from taking — and making — shots from outside. Those shots will be tougher to make at the next level, as will defending larger opponents, but the ingredients are there for Sensabaugh to be a difficult matchup just like Liddell is now.

Ohio State officially offered Sensabaugh a scholarship on August 20, and later that same day he included Ohio State in his final four schools — alongside Alabama, Florida, and Georgia Tech. If that causes your eyebrows to raise a bit, you’re not alone. We may never know, but it seems Sensabaugh was waiting for that Ohio State offer before he released his final four. Roughly a month after the scholarship offer, he’s (unofficially) a Buckeye.

He joins Thornton, Gayle, Okpara, and three-star guard Bowen Hardman in Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class. Ohio State has the space to potentially add another wing, but with five-star forward Dillon Mitchell not including the Buckeyes in his final three yesterday, the odds of that happening don’t look too high. It’s more likely that the Buckeyes will add a wing via the transfer portal in the spring after the 2021-22 season ends, like they did this year to replenish their backcourt depth.

Even without a sixth member, this recruiting class is shaping up to be Chris Holtmann’s best since he arrived in Columbus. Ohio State still has the best recruiting class in the Big Ten according to 247Sports, and widened the gap between themselves and Indiana, who is second. With the addition of Sensabaugh, Ohio State now has the fifth-ranked recruiting class nationally, and the Hoosiers are seventh.