Starting 5: Who Is Sage Church
Twenty-year-old Sage Church moved to Santa Monica, Calif., in 2023 to attend Santa Monica College (SMC) and pursue his basketball career as a Corsair. After being born on a farm, coming from a small town of 300 people in Pollocksville, N.C., Church found himself in a beach city ready to take on what California has to offer.
Back home, Church attended The Epiphany School, which serves students from fourth through 12th grade. Sixth grade is when Church first found himself playing basketball for fun, but quickly realized it was a game he had a calling for.
“At my school it was like before school started you could come in and just go in the gym and play,” said Church. “I just started playing basketball in there and then fell in love with it, got a hoop, played in my front yard and joined the team my seventh grade year and played from there.”
Freshman year, Church practiced with the varsity team but remained on junior varsity, finishing second in their conference. COVID-19 prevented his sophomore-year debut, but he returned his junior year, made varsity and earned first-team all-conference honors.
As he finished out his final years at Epiphany, sticking with the majority of the same hoopers for eight years enhanced his game and the team’sir chemistry on the court.
It hasn’t been hard to spot Church on the court since his senior year. In what originally started out as a joke after one of his friends buzzed his hair, Church went from having hair down to his shoulders to a cheetah print buzz cut for his signature look — sort of like Dennis Rodman.
“I got tired of plain hair. Do something interesting,” Church said.
Standing at 6 -foot-2, shooting guard is Church’s area of expertise — in a video posted to Instagram on DaddlyDucks, Church is shown scoring 35 points on just 9 dribbles.
“I was always a good shooter, even when I started and then just watching film of a lot of Klay Thompson honestly, just not a lot of dribbles,” Church said. “If it is dribbling it’s simple one-two dribble pull ups. Just simple off the ball movement, catch and shoot.”
Besides Thompson, Church was heavily inspired by Stephen Curry and enjoys watching Kyrie Irving on the court. When Church’s head coach and teammates were asked to describe him in three words, almost all of the responses included the word “shooter.”
“Unselfish, Hardworking, Draco,” said teammate Davon Carwise.
When Church had the opportunity to describe himself in three words, he said, “Dedicated, adventurous, competitive.” Regardless of feeling exhausted from basketball, Church manages to push himself out of bed every day to get better.
“If I don't, how am I going to get towards the goals I want too?” Church said. “Someone else is doing it.”
As a guard, one personal challenge Church is trying to overcome with his game is dribbling the ball. Due to his Thompson correlation — that’s just not the game he plays. Since last season, he feels he has improved on his dribbling, but is aware he has more work to do.
This season, Church is averaging 8.2 points per game and 13.2 points per 40 minutes.
During the Corsairs’ evening practice on Thursday, Nov. 13, head coach Malik Bray highlighted that Church is one of the top shooters on the team and should be receiving the ball a lot more than he has been. Since then, Church feels he has been touching the ball a little more when it’s game time, but viewers are waiting to see his average go up.
The Corsairs’ record is currently 2-8 as they head into their matchup against Santiago Canyon on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Citrus College Holiday Classic. The eight-game losing streak comes after their first two wins against the Los Angeles Harbor College Eagles 91-83 and the Compton College Coyotes 82-67.
The Coyotes came back to beat the Corsairs during the Alvin Hunter Classic a week later, 82-62, handing them their fifth loss. When Church was asked about the loss he said, “We were short-handed and that was our third game in three days…exhausted.”
On top of the long drive to San Bernardino College during the heavy rain Los Angeles desperately needed, the Corsairs are still down four players, all of whom play pivotal roles and could be the team’s missing winning pieces.
It’s been a tough mental challenge for most of the Corsairs during this losing season. Surprisingly for Church, he keeps his head held high through these adversities and remains focused on doing whatever he can to help the team win.
“I just have a short memory. It happens, learn from it, forget about it,” Church said. “Thinking about it, letting it mess you up doesn’t help in any way.” The losses turn into his fuel to stay focused on improving defensively and taking the open shots he knows he can make.
Positive energy radiates from Church on and off of the court. In connection to his teammates and coach describing Church as a “shooter,” they all also acknowledged his positive attitude and described him as glue on the team who keeps everyone together.
“Sage has been an absolute amazing player to coach,” said head coach Bray. “Listens, does what is asked of him, and tries his best. Usually the first one in the gym and the last one out,” Bray continued. “From the time he came down here on his visit until now he has been my shooter and one of my favorite players that I’ve ever coached. Does everything the right way and even when he doesn’t it’s no change in emotion or attitude if he gets taken out. All traits that are going to serve him well in life!”
Locker room festivities, bus rides and media day are all fun memories Church admires about his time as a Corsair. His favorite basketball memory goes back to his high school team — blasting music, hanging out with everyone and just having fun.
Thanks to The Epiphany School, Church has a long history doing community service with various organizations which is something he wanted people to know about him beyond his jersey. His service to his community plays a huge role in his positive attitude on and off of the court.
“Food banks, soup kitchens,” Church continued. “There’s one called CCSAP. It’s a Coastal Coalition for Substance Awareness and Prevention…essentially like just awareness and teaching people about the dangers of underage alcohol, drug use and all that stuff.”
Aside from basketball and community service, Church enjoys snowboarding, skating, mountain biking and attending concerts. In 2025, Church attended his first concert and finished the year with nine shows under his belt, including the Dreamville Fest to see his favorite artist J. Cole.
Being a professional athlete, whether in the NBA or playing overseas, is a goal for Church in the future. He is one of the only athletes to come out of The Epiphany and continue playing in college.
“Never would I have thought in high school I’d be in California playing basketball,” Church said.
Church is also one of two of the Corsairs this season with a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal which is a notable achievement for a community college athlete. SportsPharm.Pro is his first brand partnership to promote their WasabiRub.
“It’s like a menthol rub, it’s a heat cream,” said Church. “So if you have any area that’s either hurting or just tight, it can help with recovery for that or for warming up.”
According to Church, the WasabiRub can be put on at the start of a game, and athletes will feel the heat throughout the entirety of the game. Biofreeze was the product he used in comparison and said it only lasts for 30 minutes, which is why he loves his WasabiRub.
This NIL deal came through Athlete Creator Lab, which is run by Kam Scott and Denzel Hines, who currently plays basketball at University of California, Riverside. Hines was able to connect with Church, and from there the company has helped him partner with brands and turn his everyday life into marketable content.
For any athletes that are interested in achieving a NIL deal, Church recommends, “Just start recording stuff. Just make videos!”
In spring 2026, Church will attain his Associate of Arts in Kinesiology from SMC. He has no school in particular that he wants to transfer to right now. His only focus is on attending a college with the best opportunity for him to continue playing the game he loves.
To make use of his degree, Church will also pursue athletic training which he is currently interning in at various locations with different athletes. During the basketball off season, he hopes to train himself and others on the court and in the weight room.
To follow Church and keep up with him throughout his basketball career he can be found on Instagram at @schurch_12. For more information regarding SMC’s basketball team, visit the athletics page at Men's Basketball - Santa Monica College.