Central Catholic Grad, Pitt Transfer Target Commits to SEC School

Pitt football was looking to bring home a Central Catholic High School grad and veteran defensive lineman in the transfer portal, but the Panthers lost out on the WPIAL product to an SEC school.

Bralen Henderson — a 6-foot-2, 280-pound Ohio transfer — committed to the Missouri Tigers on Sunday, he announced via X.

Committed M-I-Z🐯‼️ pic.twitter.com/ZbvNgKQRae

— Bralen Henderson (@bhendo81) May 3, 2025

Pitt was in the running to land the transfer prospect after the Panthers’ staff offered back on April 16. He then visited Pitt the following Wednesday. The commitment comes after a visit with the Missouri program, along with one at Ole Miss.

247Sports rated Henderson as a three-star transfer talent and the No. 129 defensive lineman in the portal. He has one year of eligibility left as a grad transfer.

Henderson fetched a long list of offers while in the portal after four years at Ohio. Miami, Utah, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, California, Georgia Tech, Washington State, UConn, Toledo, Charlotte were just a handful of the additional offers he picked up in the process.

In 2024, Henderson played in 14 games, recorded 26 tackles (14 solo), two tackles for loss and a sack for an Ohio team that claimed its first Mid-American Conference title since 1968.

The year prior as a redshirt sophomore, Henderson totaled 21 tackles (eight solo), two tackles for loss and one sack. During his first two seasons, he played in limited action in six games.

Henderson is a 2021 grad of Central Catholic. As a senior with the Vikings, he compiled 40 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, two forced fumbles, seven hurries and four passes defended.

Coming out of high school, Bralen Henderson was rated as a three-star prospect, the 249th defensive lineman and 44th player in Pennsylvania. He picked Ohio over other offers from Brown, Princeton, Lehigh, Army, Navy and others.

Pitt’s interest in the defensive tackle comes with an already strong unit that boasts Nick James, Sean FitzSimmons, Francis Brewu, Isaiah Neal and Jahsear Whittington.