Derrell Nelson

Wilson Magnet High School Class of 2011

Le Moyne College Class of 2015

Playing basketball since he was nine, Rochester-native and Wilson Magnet High School graduate Derrell Nelson has continued to fuel a passion for the sport that led him to travel and study internationally. 

Derrell is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Business Administration at Cardiff University, where he’s the starting shooting guard for the Men’s Basketball team. Cardiff University is one of the 24 Russell Group universities in the UK which is the equivalent of an Ivy League school in the US.  Previously to his studies in the UK, he attended Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.

After graduation, Derrell plans to try out for several BBL (British Basketball League) teams and playing professional basketball in the United Kingdom but his long term goal is to ultimately give back to his community in Rochester. Derrell has a business plan and has begun to seek sponsorship for the development of a basketball camp program for inner city youth in Rochester. The primary goal of the camp will be to assist players both academically as well as athletically so they may approach their senior year of high school with a full academic/athletic scholarship to a college or university.  Eventually, the goal is for the camp to go nationwide, helping young basketball players across the country realize their potential at a young age while increasing the enrollment of black males in college institutions.

Derrell currently runs a charity that collects school supplies for youth in Kingston, Jamaica with a local drop-off at Rochester’s School 19. More information and how to contribute >