Gifted 6-10 forward Chris Cenac has seen his recruitment take a meteoric jump over the past few months, and major college basketball programs are taking notice.
Heading into the summer, Cenac was considered a top-50 prospect, but now he is a consensus five-star recruit ranked in the top 16 nationally by all the major recruiting services.
“He was thought of as a four-star and a lot of people may not have seen the potential that he had,” president of NXT Pro Hoops Matt Reynolds told Jacob Polacheck of KSR+. “He’s got crazy athleticism and can shoot the basketball. There aren’t many 6-10 people on planet Earth that have all of those traits. He has those.”
LSU and Houston Considered Early Leaders For Fast-Rising Consensus Top 15 2025 Prospect
Cenac has had quite the summer so far and is currently playing for YoungGameChangers in the Pro16/Next 16. He was named MVP of the NBPA Top 100 camp and was part of the USA U17 World Cup team that recently won another gold medal. The New Orleans native scored in three of the six World Cup games, averaging 8.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 0.6 blocks in less than 12 minutes a contest. He compiled shooting splits of .538/.250/64.3%.
Cenac is ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the country by ESPN and On3. Meanwhile, 247Sports has him 14th in their rankings and Rivals lists him at No. 16.
“My ball handling and my shooting has developed and that has made me more versatile,” Cenac told On3 why he thinks he has gotten more offers recently. he made the huge jump in the. “I’m able to play all over the court with a good motor and my basketball IQ. I watch a lot of guys who are 6-foot-10-plus who can move around. Players like Naz Reid and Anthony Davis.”
Here is more on Cenac’s game from On3:
Chris Cenac has a great frame. It is projectable with long arms and natural fluidity. Cenac has good touch with good hands. He is a threat to step out and knock down a shot with his feet set. He needs to continue working on his balance and feet on the shot, but the release is consistent. Cenac is an excellent area rebounder. Making a concerted effort to high point and secure every board. He still needs strength, especially to his core and base. There is defensive upside. Cenac has a fluidity when he moves. He can open his hips and slide his feet. He also has natural timing around the rim. Now it is all about learning the angles, rotations, and footwork on that end. There is a high ceiling with Cenac as a lot of his tools translate to the highest levels of basketball. It is all about reps and development. He is still on the younger end for his 2025 class.
Cenac’s Recruitment
Cenac has transferred to Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, for his final prep season. He has received over 30 scholarship offers 20 over the last two months. Oregon, Arkansas, Michigan State, Georgetown, and Michigan are the latest to offer him.
According to On3, LSU and Houston are currently the favorites to land Cenac, with LSU having a 44.7% chance and Houston a 20.5% chance. The Tigers and Cougars are rated so highly because they are the only schools he has visited thus far. He has taken two unofficial visits to LSU and one to Houston, all three occurring since September.
However, it is very early in the process.
“I plan to take some official visits in the Fall, once everything settles down for me,” Cenac told Jaime Shaw of On3 recently. “My family and I will sit down toward the end of the summer once all the travel settles down to talk about which schools will be getting visits. I’ll probably take visits during the Fall and then I might commit after that.
“I’m looking for a school that will develop me the most and help me get to the next level. I’ll want to have a great relationship with the coaches, trust there. And I’ll want to be looking for an NBA type system, spreading the floor, playing four or five out. I’m open to any school around the country really, location won’t matter.”
Kentucky, which offered him on June 11, is expected to be one of the schools that receives an official visit.
Cenac Talks Schools
Cenac has explicitly spoken about a few of the schools that have offered him. The following is what he has said about the schools.
LSU Tigers
Cenac took unofficial visits to LSU this past December and February.
“My relationship is good with the staff. The whole staff reaches out pretty much all the time. They’re still building their program. I want to see this year what they do this year, with the team they have. They have great facilities down there. How up to date their facilities are stood out to me.”
Houston Cougars
Cenac took an unofficial to Houston in September.
“They’re a good team, very physical. Coach (Kelvin) Sampson is a great coach and they’re like a family over there. They’re a good transition team, and I feel like I’m pretty good in transition. Houston stresses defense and their facilities are good.”
Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky’s new coaching staff has watched Cenac a few times this summer.
“I know it’s a whole new staff, so it’s something for me to look into more,” Cenac told Tyler Thompson of KSR. “I just love the support they get as a school, I like what they’ve done in the past. Even though it’s a new coaching staff, as a school, they’ve brought a lot of talent out of there. That’s pretty good.”
Syracuse Orange
Syracuse offered Cenac in early June.
“They’ve been reaching out to my dad,” Cenac told Michael McAlister in early June. “They’ve been talking to my dad. Coach Red called me. He wanted to let me know he had been watching my game and wanted to offer me. I was shocked. I think Syracuse is a great school and it’s a pretty good offer for me to get. Just the fact that I didn’t expect them to be reaching out. That’s one school I didn’t expect.”
