Shulman Signs Ousseynou Sambe To UT Martin Men’s Basketball Class Of 2026
5/26/2026 2:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball signing class for the 2026-27 campaign now includes 11 student-athletes as the Skyhawks have inked freshman forward Ousseynou Sambe.
The 6-10, 205-pound Sambe hails from Dakar, Senegal and played the 2025-26 season for head coach Marty Haws at Anthem Preparatory School in South Jordan, Utah. He enjoyed many standout games, including 23 points in a December win over South Central Prep at Eads, Tenn.
"Ousseynou is a versatile talent with great athleticism and length," UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "He can shoot, drive and pass – things we love from tall players in our system. On top of that, he is also an amazing person."
Sambe played for the Senegal National Team at the 2024 FIBA U18 AfroBasket event held in Pretoria, South Africa. He averaged 9.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.2 steals while shooting 52.4 percent (22-of-42) over six games in the tournament, helping his home country to a bronze medal finish. His best game in that event came against Côte d'Ivoire as he went off for 25 points (on 11-of-17 shooting) and 12 rebounds in the group phase round. He also added 13 points and six blocks against Cameroon and a 12-point, nine-rebound performance against Egypt. Overall, he had five multi-block efforts and hauled in at least eight rebounds on four separate occasions.
In 2025, Sambe participated in the NBA Academy Games and led his NBA Academy Africa squad with 20 points in a win over South Africa Select. That came after he played 10 combined games for the APR Basketball Club Kigali and Stade Malien organizations in the Basketball Africa League Rwandan RBL. He also appeared in one game for the Vevey Riviera Basket squad in the Swiss LNA league during the 2022-23 season.
Sambe will join Reid Conley (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Armandas Bancevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania), Gabrielius Bubnys (Marijampolė, Lithuania), Nikola Janicic (Skopje, North Macedonia), Giorgi Sulaberidze (Kutaisi, Georgia), Davi Remagen (Köln, Germany), Nikas Stuknys (Panevėžys, Lithuania), Sasha Savkov (Moscow, Russia), Kaan Onat (Istanbul, Turkey) and Mai Hong (Beijing, China) on UT Martin's list of newcomers in 2026-27. Last season, the Skyhawks reeled off 22 wins – equaling the most in school history – and advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship semifinals after ranking in the top-25 in NCAA Division I men's basketball in seven different statistical categories.
The 6-10, 205-pound Sambe hails from Dakar, Senegal and played the 2025-26 season for head coach Marty Haws at Anthem Preparatory School in South Jordan, Utah. He enjoyed many standout games, including 23 points in a December win over South Central Prep at Eads, Tenn.
"Ousseynou is a versatile talent with great athleticism and length," UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "He can shoot, drive and pass – things we love from tall players in our system. On top of that, he is also an amazing person."
Sambe played for the Senegal National Team at the 2024 FIBA U18 AfroBasket event held in Pretoria, South Africa. He averaged 9.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.2 steals while shooting 52.4 percent (22-of-42) over six games in the tournament, helping his home country to a bronze medal finish. His best game in that event came against Côte d'Ivoire as he went off for 25 points (on 11-of-17 shooting) and 12 rebounds in the group phase round. He also added 13 points and six blocks against Cameroon and a 12-point, nine-rebound performance against Egypt. Overall, he had five multi-block efforts and hauled in at least eight rebounds on four separate occasions.
In 2025, Sambe participated in the NBA Academy Games and led his NBA Academy Africa squad with 20 points in a win over South Africa Select. That came after he played 10 combined games for the APR Basketball Club Kigali and Stade Malien organizations in the Basketball Africa League Rwandan RBL. He also appeared in one game for the Vevey Riviera Basket squad in the Swiss LNA league during the 2022-23 season.
Sambe will join Reid Conley (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Armandas Bancevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania), Gabrielius Bubnys (Marijampolė, Lithuania), Nikola Janicic (Skopje, North Macedonia), Giorgi Sulaberidze (Kutaisi, Georgia), Davi Remagen (Köln, Germany), Nikas Stuknys (Panevėžys, Lithuania), Sasha Savkov (Moscow, Russia), Kaan Onat (Istanbul, Turkey) and Mai Hong (Beijing, China) on UT Martin's list of newcomers in 2026-27. Last season, the Skyhawks reeled off 22 wins – equaling the most in school history – and advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship semifinals after ranking in the top-25 in NCAA Division I men's basketball in seven different statistical categories.
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