Nigel Hylton '22 Recruiting Profile

My name is Nigel Hylton, and I was born  and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where I currently reside with my family, including my mother Ailis, father Anthony, and 13 year-old sister, Bianca.

I have played rep basketball since I was 7 years old, in addition to rep baseball, which I played from the ages of 9-15.

For my first year of high-school (2017/18), I attended my home school, Forest Hill Collegiate, in Toronto, where my grades placed me on the honour roll, and my play on the basketball court earned me MVP of the team. That summer I played on the AAU circuit Nike Made Hoops with UPlay Canada.

The next year, in search of an opportunity that would better balance both my academic and high level basketball aspirations, I transferred to Oakwood Collegiate, a different school in my neighbourhood in Toronto. At Oakwood, I earned honour roll worthy grades once again, while also leading the basketball team to the city finals. Although we did not achieve our team goals that season, my play throughout earned me tournament all-star selections at several tournaments, and I was chosen as a 2019 Biosteel All-Canadian. That summer, I played AAU with North Toronto Elite, and captained my team to a 36-4 record season (12-1 in the US). That summer, I also attended the NCAA Academy in Illinois. There, I really understood that I belonged at the Division 1 level of basketball, and so, sought an opportunity that would provide me with regular exposure to coaches in the United States, while still being able to pursue my academic goals at the highest level.

Accordingly, I accepted a generous opportunity to attend Lake Forest Academy (LFA), one of the best prep schools in the state of Illinois, as  as a re-classed sophomore. That year proved to be a great learning experience for me, as it was my first time living away from home for an extended period of time, and I adjusted to the academic rigour necessary to succeed in a top private school setting.  When I returned home to Canada for March Break, the school closed following due to Covid-19, forcing all students to finish the year online, where I did so, at home in Toronto.

Unfortunately, in August, the still developing understanding of COVID-19, and the safety precautions necessary to mitigate risk, saw Lake Forest Academy move to online classes only, and cancel their basketball season as case numbers were climbing ever higher in the United States. In Canada, we looked to be on a different track. We had flattened the curve, and the prospect of in-person school, that included a basketball season, seemed the better and safer option to me, so I made the tough decision to stay home for my junior year.

In actuality, the United States was able to get their vaccinations far sooner than those in Canada, and in short order, case numbers shot up here too, moving our schools online, cancelling the basketball season, and closing the border to non-essential travel.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, I have spent my time training and working out as much as possible at home, and where facility openings would allow, while only being able to play a total of three games in my hometown during my high school season. I was able to finish the school year fairly strong, but online schooling was not the best way to learn. I studied and prepared on my own to write the SAT, even though I understood it would no longer be necessary for entrance to many universities that waived this requirement. SAT test centers kept closing because of COVID, meaning I had to make the trek four hours from home and stay overnight for the sitting. I scored 1380, in the 96th percentile overall, which I hope demonstrates to schools both my aptitude and also my commitment to my own academic excellence, as the achievement was reached during trying times.

The past almost two years has taught me valuable life lessons, like how to be resilient and deal with adversity. During the summer of 2020, I also worked a summer job, providing basketball training for youth stuck at home due to the cancellation of camps.  This helped me better my already proven leadership skills and made me see basketball through the lens of a coach. It was gratifying to see the growth in skill level of the players I trained even over the short summer period as they applied my teachings. I made the experience fun for them and received lots of positive feedback.

During the summer of 2021, I played AAU with Canada Elite on the UAA circuit. It was great to be finally playing competitively again. In early August, we concluded our short season by playing in the 43rd annual Jane & Finch Classic in Toronto, where my team won the championship, and I was selected as a tournament all-star.

I have completed by NCAA eligibility with a 3.5 GPA, and have chosen to do a post-grad year at Prolific/Golden State Prep in Napa, California to make up for lost training time, to challenge myself, and to demonstrate to coaches and college admissions departments that I am a superb scholarship candidate for any college basketball program, because of my athletic talent, academic ability, and character. I bring to the school, and to the locker room, a hard-worker, a player who is passionate about the classroom and the game, and someone who excels off the court as much as he does on it.