At Next Generation Academy, our mission is to empower young athletes through a culture and professionalism by a strong pursuit of improvement and the genuine desire to motivate student-athletes on and off the court. Next Generation Academy was founded by Marcellus Sommerville, former Bradley “Braves” University player, in 2018 while playing professionally in Israel.

The organization’s name was chosen because Marcellus wanted to teach kids the skills that he had learned throughout his career as highly ranked/recruited D1 player and on to the professional ranks.

That summer, Next Generation Academy began as a week-long camp in Peoria, IL and was directed by Marcellus while he was home during his professional off-season. As Marcellus gets closer to retiring he plans to pursue Next Generation Academy full-time and expand it from a simple camps to a full-service youth basketball organization that includes training, clinics, 3v3 League, camps, AAU teams and Top 250 Elite Exposure showcases. Next Generation Academy not only teaches kids on court, but also life lessons off the court as well through their slogan “BElieve in YOUrself!” Next Generation Academy vision is to cultivate the community, while developing student athletes and educating leaders of the next generation.