PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Lathan Sommerville has officially taken the next step of becoming a Scarlet Knight.

In front of family, friends, and loved ones the 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward/center signed his National Letter of Intent to play college basketball at Rutgers University at Richwood High School Wednesday afternoon.

The big man verbally committed to Rutgers on March 21, following his official visit on Feb. 13. Somerville took in Rutgers and attended the home game against Nebraska on the 14th alongside his mother Brooke, and his father Marcellus.

“It meant a lot and I was really excited that the overall process was over, and I knew where I wanted to go,” Sommerville said of his decision to join Rutgers. “Having my family on the same page with where I was going made it even better.”

“Lathan Somerville comes from a fantastic basketball family,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. The first time I talked to him on the phone I loved him. He has a great personality and he’s improved every time I see him. He has an inside-outside presence. He is a player that can play multiple positions. He can rebound and pass as well as any player in the nation at his position. I know he’s going to have a great career and we are really excited about how good he is going to become. We’re so excited to add Lathan to the RU family.” 

Sommerville has seen the way big men of the past few years have thrived in the current system at RU. 

The Rutgers coaching staff sees Sommerville as exactly that, a big with versatility and a player that can follow the likes of Myles Johnson, and Clifford Omoruyi. Sommerville said anywhere on the mid-post is his favorite area to score the basketball on the court.

“I’m more of a mid-post, low-post scorer, but I can stretch the floor for sure,” Sommerville said of his game. “I’m trying hard to knock down three-pointers more consistently. People think I’m solely a big man who keeps his back to the basket, but I have some handles too. I don’t bring it out all the time, but I have a bag!” 

Sommerville hails from Peoria, Illinois, and has taken a special journey all over the world and the States to become one of the best high school big men in the nation. 

His father, Marcellus Sommerville played professional basketball internationally in France after a successful career at Bradley University, where a young Lathan grew up and began to learn the game.

“I really just played basketball all the time out there when I was younger,” Somerville said. “It was cool growing up in different places. I learned how to speak French, so that’s a cool skill I have. Honestly, I prefer it much better over here though.”

In the states, Sommerville developed into one of the best high school big men in the country at The Skill Factory in Atlanta Georgia. He is ranked as high as No. 87 nationally in the country by ESPN and is ranked the No. 3 player in Illinois by 247Sports. ESPN ranks Sommerville as the tenth-best center in the nation. He is ranked a top-115 player in the nation by On3.com, Rivals, and the previous two recruiting websites. 

Sommerville has connected with Coach Pikiell and has developed a strong relationship with RU assistant coach T.J. Thompson.

Sommerville chose RU after receiving interest and offers from some of the best programs in the country including the final seven schools of Villanova, Seton Hall, Bradley, Xavier, Missouri, and Virginia Tech. He also held offers from Bradley, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Xavier.

Off the court, Sommerville joked that Rutgers Nation can expect a person who’s competitive no matter what the game is.

“I’m extremely competitive. I compete with everything I do, whether it be video games, board games, it doesn’t matter. I’m always trying to win”.