The Pitt basketball program picked up a key transfer on Friday as Nelly Cummings has committed to the Panthers. Cummings is a 6'0" senior guard with one year of eligibility remaining. He played the past three seasons for Colgate after starting his career at Bowling Green. Cummings averaged 14.7 points and 3.4 assists per game while knocking down 36% from three-point range.

Cummings is a native of Western Pennsylvania. He starred for Lincoln Park Charter in his high school days and led the Leopards to a state title appearance as a senior. Cummings was not offered by Pitt initially, but he has a strong knowledge of the program after following the team growing up in the area.

“I know a lot about Pitt,” Cummings told Panther-Lair.com last week. “I have been working out in that gym since I was like 10 years old, so it really goes back to the days of Sam Young and all of those guys being there so I know a lot about the program and where it has been.”

Cummings entered the transfer portal on March 22nd and Pitt head coach Jeff Capel quickly reached out to the talented guard, as did a lot of other programs. He had reported contact from the likes of Arkansas, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Xavier, along with many more programs. That initial contact from his hometown team stuck out to Cummings.

“It was really special to hear the interest Coach Capel has in me,” Cummings said in a prior interview. “He is making sure he is getting in early in the process and telling me how he could use me so I definitely value that.”

Cummings visited Pitt last weekend, along with his younger brother, 2024 Lincoln Park standout Brandin Cummings. The visit went reportedly well for both of them. On Wednesday evening, Brandin tweeted out that he had an offer from Pitt. He told Panther-Lair.com that offer came in-person from Capel directly, as he was at the house visiting his older brother.

Pitt offered Cummings, hosted him for a visit on campus, made it to his house for an in-home, and secured his commitment in less than two weeks. Now the Panthers have a veteran guard that should help shore the backcourt immediately.

Aside from being a local high school player that fans are familiar with, he also played against Pitt this past year. Pitt held off Colgate 71-68 on December 9th with Cummings posting 17 points in the defeat.

Following that loss to Pitt, the Raiders went on a run and eventually won the Patriot League championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. Colgate lost to Wisconsin in the first round, but he posted 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists against the Big Ten regular season champions.

Cummings joins a returning core that features All-ACC honorable mention pick John Hugley. Along with returning starters Femi Odukale and Jamarius Burton, plus the return of Nike Sibande who missed all of last season with an injury.

Following this commitment, and the departure of Max Amadasun earlier today, Pitt has six more scholarships to fill before next season. Capel and his staff remain active in the transfer portal, and have kept tabs on some 2022 prospects as well.