RICHMOND — Finding the perfect combination between coaches and schools is stressful for some high school standouts.

For Clark County senior Robbie Stenzel, a few days of stress was all he could take before deciding to verbally commit to Eastern Kentucky University on Tuesday.

Stenzel, who is anticipated to be one of the top five players in the 2011 class in the state, chose EKU over Samford, Gardner-Webb and Texas-El Paso.

He was also being recruited by Morehead State, Tennessee Tech, Georgetown College, New Hampshire and Western Kentucky.

“I just sat in bed all night and made a list of the pros and cons of each school,” Stenzel said. “When I realized I could make a whole page worth of pros and no cons for EKU, I figured I might as well commit. There was nothing wrong with it. I love EKU.”

Stenzel has impressive offensive abilities which should fit in nicely with the EKU system. The 6-foot-4 guard averages 40 percent from the three-point line, 50 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free-throw line.

He already has more than 1,500 career points and averaged 14 points and five assists per game last season.

“I think it’s the perfect marriage in that regard,” Clark County coach Scott Humphrey said. “Robbie’s such an efficient scorer. He shoots a high percentage from the three-point line. He has a nice pull-up shot and he’s unselfish with the basketball. He’s a high-percentage shooter from the three line.”

Stenzel made his decision after one extra conversation with EKU coach Jeff Neubauer and Everick Sullivan on Monday.

“There was a lot going on in my mind and there’s a whole lot I like about Eastern,” he said. “I like the coaches and we had a big conversation (on Monday) and coach Sullivan really put it in my head that Eastern’s the perfect place for me.”

Stenzel has had a few chances to attend EKU games — including visiting during the Murray State game last season. Part of the excitement of signing comes from having friends and family able to see him play at the collegiate level.

Another part is the excitement of the unknown.

“If I keep getting better, there’s no telling what I can do at Eastern,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll keep improving enough to make an impact at the next level. Since I’m from around here, hopefully more people will come to the games to cheer me on as well.”

Humphrey said the early commitment came after years of Stenzel’s recruitment by the Colonels.

“Robbie’s been playing varsity basketball since the eighth grade,” Humphrey said. “It’s not like he snuck up on the radar. He’s been out there for awhile and he’s been recruited for years. It’s an early commitment as far as here in August but he knew what he was looking for and Eastern fit the bill.”

EKU inks another commitment

The Colonels also got a verbal commitment late last week from a big man out of Newberg, Ind.

Eric Stutz, who is a 6-foot-8 center from Castle High School, chose EKU over Gardner-Webb.

“I felt comfortable with the coaches and I liked the campus and the players,” Stutz said. “I liked their style of play. I’m a big man who can shoot and I mostly play in the post.”

Stutz averaged 17 points and eight rebounds last season. He said he hopes to major in accounting and felt at ease when he visited the EKU School of Business.

“I went to the business school and talked with somebody,” he said. “I took accounting in high school and I really liked the class. I feel pretty good with everything.”

Stutz helped his team to a 16-5 record last season and Castle’s first-ever Southern Indiana Athletic Conference championship.