Kansas lands five-star guard Darryn Peterson, Jayhawks' first top-five commit since 2016

Date:

Share post:


Five-star combo guard Darryn Peterson committed to Kansas on Friday night, he told The Athletic, and is the first top-five recruit to sign with the program since Josh Jackson in the 2016 class. Peterson, who plays for Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., chose Kansas over Kansas State, USC and Ohio State.

Peterson is the top-rated guard in the Class of 2025 and will be a candidate to replace sixth-year point guard Dajuan Harris, a four-year starter for the Jayhawks. At 6-5, he could end up playing alongside another point guard — whether that’s current sophomore Elmarko Jackson or someone Self pursues in the transfer portal next year — but it’s likely Peterson will fill one of the starting spots in the 2025-26 backcourt.

The Peterson signing marks a return to Kansas’ position as one of the top players on the recruiting trail. This is the second consecutive cycle in which Bill Self has signed a five-star — he brought in Flory Bidunga in the 2024 class — after a four-year stretch in which Kansas did not operate as fans were used to seeing as an NCAA investigation that resulted in five Level I violations hung over the program.

The notice of allegations arrived in September of 2019, but it had been expected since late 2017 when the FBI’s investigation into the college basketball recruiting world went public. The case really started to affect the program in that 2019 class, as the possibility of a postseason ban hung over the program. From 2013 to 2018, KU landed at least one five-star in every class (per 247Sports rankings) and averaged two per year. From 2019 through 2023, Kansas landed just two five-stars, but both had preexisting connections to the school: Bryce Thompson’s father played for KU, and Gradey Dick is a Kansas native whose brother attended KU.

It’s not like the program has fallen off during that time, but its high school signees have been transferring at a higher rate. In that 2013 to 2018 window, Kansas had just four players transfer, and two of those players (Carlton Bragg Jr. and Silvio De Sousa) had off-the-court issues. In the four classes from 2019 through 2022, Kansas lost 10 high school signees to the portal. Transferring has become much more common in recent years due to loosened restrictions, but some of the defections were the product of Kansas reaching on some recruits it wouldn’t have needed to reach on in the past.

Peterson will project as a one-and-done lottery pick, but looking ahead to 2025-26, Kansas should have one of its bigger, more athletic rosters in recent years, especially on the perimeter, with A.J. Storr (6-7), Rylan Griffen (6-5), Rakease Passmore (6-5), Jamari McDowell (6-4) and Jackson (6-3) all capable of returning.

(Photo: Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)





Source link

Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams is a writer and editor. Angeles. She writes about politics, art, and culture for LinkDaddy News.

Recent posts

Related articles

How Josh Metellus became the key to Brian Flores' innovative Vikings defense

He wears the perfect number: 44.What type of football player typically wears 44? It feels too high...

Sabres mailbag: Will Kevyn Adams make a significant trade? Does Trevor Zegras fit?

The Buffalo Sabres started their California road trip with a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings...

Has the expanded College Football Playoff made more games 'matter' down the stretch?

The expanded College Football Playoff is doing exactly what it intended to do, allowing more teams more...

Are the Blues considering a Jim Montgomery reunion? It's not out of the question

Based on the timing of the St. Louis Blues’ announcement last May that Drew Bannister was signing...

Chelsea's Reece James out of Leicester game with hamstring injury

Chelsea captain Reece James has suffered another injury setback after being ruled out of the Premier League...

Geno Auriemma takes over the GOAT mantle, plus Army's CFP dreams

The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive...

How Bills' Tyler Bass is getting ready for his next big kick: 'You’re going to go through storms'

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — What are the odds the Buffalo Bills’ season comes down to a Tyler...

Fantasy football brain games: The upside of Tommy DeVito and trust issues with Javonte Williams

This article is all about decision-making and avoiding all the biases that can lead you to make...