Last week, Lathan Sommerville announced his top seven programs as he began to wind down his recruitment. A four-star center, Sommerville is hoping to make a decision sooner rather than later.
Sommerville’s top seven included Villanova, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Bradley, Xavier, Missouri and Virginia Tech. A 6-foot-10 center from the Skill Factory (Atlanta, GA), he is ranked the No. 92 recruit in the nation according to Rivals.
He spoke with Rutgers Wire about his recruitment and why the Scarlet Knights ended up making his top seven after taking an official visit to the program in February.
“Rutgers is a great place from the staff to the fans – a lot of great people in the organization and they get their players better and prepared for the next level,” Sommerville told Rutgers Wire.
“They also have that winning culture and competitive nature that I really like.”
Starting with JaMichael Davis, a member of the 2023 recruiting class, Rutgers has certainly made Georgia a priority for their program. From McEachern High School (Powder Springs, GA) Davis is a three-star guard who is ranked the No. 215 player in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite.
Also from McEachern, Airious Bailey is a verbal to the 2024 recruiting class for Rutgers. He is a five-star recruit and a consensus top 10 player in the nation.
Sommerville isn’t sure if there is any one reason why so much talent from Georgia is liking New Jersey right now. He thinks it is not only the direction of the program under head coach Steve Pikiell (four straight winning seasons, three straight postseason appearances) but also the culture around the Scarlet Knights.
“I’m not really sure, honestly, probably the same reasons that I said (before),” Sommerville said.
“They’re just great people in the organization that make you feel like you are where you’re supposed to be when you’re there.”
He is currently in the process of setting up his visits to Missouri and Seton Hall.