Brice Sensabaugh is continuing his climb up the national recruiting rankings.
This week, ESPN, 247Sports.com and Rivals.com have released updated rankings for the class of 2022 and beyond. And in each case, the fifth and final member of Ohio State’s class has made a drastic climb in the national standings.
According to ESPN’s Adam Finkelstein, Sensabaugh made the biggest jump into ESPN’s top 100 when he went from an unranked, four-star prospect to the No. 49 national recruit. His ascension give the Buckeyes four top-60 recruits in the class and puts him one spot behind point guard and future teammate Bruce Thornton.
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Sensabaugh, who did not play during his junior season at Orlando (Florida) Lake Highland Prep due to injury and COVID-related scheduling issues, committed to Ohio State on Sept. 28. Three months earlier, he had been ranked No. 254 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings. In its most recent update, Sensabaugh sat at No. 101 nationally as his senior season was getting underway.
Now, he’s ranked No. 61 at 247Sports. Here’s where the three websites rank the incoming Buckeyes, the five signed for 2022 and their lone 2023 verbal commitment.
ESPN ranks four Buckeyes in nation’s top 60
Thornton, a point guard from Alpharetta (Georgia) Milton, is Ohio State’s highest-rated recruit in the new ESPN rankings at No. 48. He’s the top player from his state and the No. 9 point guard prospect in the nation. The 6-6, 240-pound Sensabaugh is the No. 6 power forward prospect in the nation and No. 10 prospect from Florida.
The duo is slightly ahead of a pair of future teammates. Roddy Gayle, a 6-4, 185-pound wing who is playing for Mount Pleasant (Utah) Wasatch Academy, is ranked No. 57 nationally. One spot behind him sits center Felix Okpara, who is playing for Branson (Missouri) Link Year Prep this season. Gayle is the No. 4 prospect from his home state of New York and the No. 14 small forward prospect, while Okpara is the No. 2 prospect from Missouri and the nation’s No. 16 center prospect. All four Buckeyes are four-star prospects.
Cincinnati Princeton guard Bowen Hardman, who has been slowed by an ankle injury this season, is listed as a three-star prospect. ESPN ranks the class No. 7 nationally.
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Ohio State’s lone 2023 commitment, guard George Washington III from Louisville (Kentucky) Christian Academy, is ranked No. 25 nationally in his class.
Ohio State has top-five class in 247Sports rankings
Again led by Thornton, four future Buckeyes are among the nation’s top 65 prospects according to 247Sports. Thornton, ranked the No. 8 point guard nationally, is the No. 42 national recruit, eight spots ahead of Okpara at No. 50. Gayle checks in at No. 59 and Sensabaugh rounds out the list of four-star Ohio State signees at No. 61. Hardman is ranked No. 300 nationally, a three-star prospect and the No. 11 prospect from Ohio.
The class is ranked No. 5 nationally.
In 2023, Washington is ranked No. 49 nationally and No. 2 in his state. He’s a four-star prospect.
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Rivals.com has Bruce Thornton just outside the top 40
Rivals ranks Thornton as the nation’s No. 41 overall prospect and No. 9 point guard, but it is not as high on the rest of the class. Okpara is second at No. 53 overall and 11 at his position, while Sensabaugh is rated No. 79 nationally and the No. 23 small forward. Gayle is ranked just inside the top 100 at No. 92 overall and the No. 21 shooting guard.
Hardman does not have a national ranking but is the No. 36 shooting guard prospect. Ohio State’s class is ranked No. 7 nationally and tops in the Big Ten.
Washington is ranked No. 65 nationally in the 2023 class.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Brice Sensabaugh’s climb leads Buckeyes in new recruiting rankings