Evansville Memorial forward Sam DeVault committed to Austin Peay Thursday. 

2019 forward Sam DeVault picked Austin Peay over offers from IUPUI, Western Illinois, Southern Illinois, and Indianapolis. Indiana Basketball Source has viewed DeVault as a D1 prospect throughout his high school career. He has excellent size at 6-foot-7-plus with fluid athleticism and a sweet shooting stroke. DeVault shot 48% from three-point range for G3 GRIND on the UAA circuit.

DeVault's value at the next level stems from his shooting. He fits the mold of a pick and pop forward to a T.  In this era, a flooring spacing '4' is key for most college teams. DeVault will be able to do that early in his career. To be more than a specialist, DeVault will have to prove that he can defend and rebound in the Ohio Valley Conference. He ranked in the 90 percentile for shot blocking rate in the Under Armour Association. If DeVault can block shots like that at Austin Peay, the Governors could play him at the '5.' That would be a major boost to DeVault's playing time.

As a junior, DeVault averaged 13.4 points per game for a 20-5 Evansville Memorial team. With Dylan Penn's graduation, DeVault will have to pick up more of the scoring load for Memorial. They will need DeVault to be in the 16-19 points per game range to match last year's success. Football standouts Branson Combs and Michael Lindauer will also be key for Memorial.