Brandin Cummings is following in his brother’s footsteps.
Pitt’s freshman guard, from Midland, Pennsylvania, played his high-school ball for Lincoln Park. He will now play for Jeff Capel and the Panthers as his older brother did two seasons ago.
Several weeks ago, while many Pitt alumni were in the Steel City for The Basketball Tournament, Pitt hosted an event for Alliance 412 members that included a practice/scrimmage between the current Pitt team and the former players of the program. In that game, the Cummings brothers were matched up against each other.
“Honestly, as far as basketball goes, that was probably the best moment in my life as far as basketball goes,” Brandin said in an video posted by Pitt basketball. “I grew up, and all I really knew was my brother was out there doing this, I’ve got to go out there and do that. I looked up to him, and I just wanted to be just like my brother. To finally play in a real game against him is just something I’ve literally dreamed of since I was five years old. So, that was such a surreal experience for me.”
The older of the two, Nelly, commented underneath the post on Twitter shortly after it was posted, saying, “Don’t make me emotional on this good Sunday,” with three crying emojis.
Nelly played one season for Pitt after starting his career with stints at Bowling Green State and Colgate. In 36 games this past year, he played over scored 11.1 points, dished out 4.8 assists, and grabbed 2.6 rebounds per game. He shot 36% from three-point range as well. He stepped up big in Pitt’s biggest games of the year, scoring 15 points in Pitt’s First Four NCAA Tournament game against Mississippi State and 13 against Iowa State in Pitt’s Round of 64 win. He worked out for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets prior to this year’s NBA Draft, but went un-drafted.
Cummings played his first professional basketball for AEL Limassol BC, before changing teams. He then played for Academic Plovdiv in the NBL in Bulgaria. He is yet to sign with a new team ahead of the 2024-25 basketball season.
Brandin joins Pitt as a three-star recruit, ranked as the No. 141 player in the class of 2024 by 247 Sports. He chose Pitt over offers from South Carolina, Creighton, Duquesne, and others.
