Prospect Spotlight: Trae English (2021)

This past Saturday, East Coast Bump held its first summer session comprised of 18 players from the Baltimore area who are all generating Division I interest. Among that group, there were a few prospects who are ’can’t miss’ high major prospects along with mid and lows as well. If you walked into the gym and didn’t know any players or their backgrounds, you would’ve thought that 2021 Poly guard [player_tooltip player_id="902040" first="Trae" last="English"] was a top player in attendance.

His command of the floor from the point guard position was incredible and the way that he competes on every possession is admirable. When English takes the floor it’s to prove a point and most importantly, to win.

Up to this point English’s high school journey has been an interesting one. He played junior varsity at Mount St. Joseph where he built a reputation as being an explosive scorer from all three levels. When he decided to make the move to Poly his junior season, he knew it would mean taking on a limited role off the bench behind 2020 guard [player_tooltip player_id="900152" first="Rahim" last="Ali"] (Howard). Transitioning from being a scorer to now being one of the first guys off the bench who need to come in and supply defense can be rough for most players, but English embraced that role and channeled back to his middle school days to shine throughout 2019-20.

"It wasn’t that hard of a change for me because I just had to get back to my old ways," English said. "I learned a lot from Rah and I’m looking forward to stepping up and being that leader this season."

The 5-foot-11 guard will share the backcourt with 2022 sharpshooter [player_tooltip player_id="777095" first="Bryce" last="Lindsay"]. Lindsay is known for his elite three-point shot, but also has some ability off the bounce. English’s strengths start with getting into the paint and scoring or finding open teammates, so the two complement each other’s games nicely.

"I just don’t think anyone is going to stop us," English told Prep Hoops. "He’s a shooter who can create off the dribble and I’m getting better with my shot, but I like to get into the paint and find open guys. They’re going to fall asleep on Bryce when I get going and then Bryce is going to heat up and then it’ll be my turn basically."

English uses his blazing speed in the open floor and also is extremely effective at changing those speed in the half court to keep his defender guessing. He’s a deadly operator in ball-screens given his court vision and threat as a scorer with the ball in his hands. Defensively he causes chaos for the opposing offense by pressuring the ball full court without fouling. He has quick hands off the ball that often times create deflections and lead to transition point for his team. Those abilities were on full display this past Saturday.

"My confidence just went up, so now I just play my game," English said as he reflected on his improvements this summer. "Coach [Sam] Brand just believes in me and it makes me comfortable with what I do. I mean I got to play behind Rah too and learn what do to, so now I just follow in his footsteps."

Loyola (MD) is the one school that has been pursuing English the most, but given we have a season this year and English gets to showcase his game, I see that list growing rather quickly.