Pembroke Pines Charter’s Sprouse is Broward Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year for 7A-5A

When Geoffrey Sprouse got to Pembroke Pines Charter as a freshman in 2018, it was not the sort of program it has become in the last three years. Pembroke Pines had never been to a final four in boys’ basketball and hadn’t even been to a region championship since 2015. Even when Sprouse was a freshman, the Jaguars lost 15 games and had a sub-.500 record, and then, suddenly, everything changed.

Pembroke Pines made it to its first state title game in 2020, then won its first in 2021. In his final three years, Sprouse only lost nine games total. As the one player to be part of every season in this four-year turnaround, Sprouse is the Miami Herald’s Broward County Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year for Classes 7A-5A.

“Being able to leave that legacy was great,” Sprouse said.

The guard averaged 14.3 points per game — second on the team behind only star guard Kolby King, who has signed with the St. John’s Red Storm — and led the Jaguars in assists as they won 25 games. Although it fell short of returning the state semifinals, Pembroke Pines won the Broward County Athletic Association’s Big 8 championship and Sprouse scored 18 points in the title game.

In the Big 8 semifinals, the Jaguars beat Stranahan, the eventual Class 5A champion, by 11 points and Sprouse led the way with 16 points. After the game, Mighty Dragons coach Edward Shuler said he was confident they’d win the state title because, “There’s not another guard we have to play like Sprouse.”

To win the Big 8, Pembroke Pines had to erase a halftime deficit against Dillard and it had to do the same in the Region 4-6A semifinals against St. Thomas Aquinas less than two weeks later. The Jaguars won both games by 15 and Sprouse scored 20 in the come-from-behind win against the Raiders.

Sprouse played his final game for Pembroke Pines three days later and led the Jaguars with 17 points in their 4-6A championship loss to Martin County in Stuart.

“This was our senior year,” said Sprouse, who was one of four seniors to average double-digit points per game. “We wanted to keep playing, keep winning games.”

Although his run ended short of another title shot, Sprouse is proud of the legacy he leaves behind in Pembroke Pines and the way he helped transform the program into a South Florida powerhouse.

“It was very important,” Sprouse said. “This is our first state championship in school history. It brings a lot of attention and then just being a part of that team — it was one of the best teams I’ve ever played with.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 12:15 PM.