The No. 3 prospect in the 2025 Rivals150, Darryn Peterson is the top high school guard in the country and a tantalizing prospect for both college coaches and NBA scouts. Peterson remains uncommitted, but his recruitment is beginning to take shape as campus visits unfold.
Today, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy ranks the contenders to land Peterson in order of how likely each is to be the choice come decision day.
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1. KANSAS
Calling Peterson’s relationship with Bill Self and his staff “strong” is probably a bit of an understatement. The five-star guard exclaimed, “That’s my guy. He’s been watching me since freshman year,” at the mere mention of Self in a recent interview, and things seem to be moving in a positive direction for the Jayhawks in the wake of Peterson’s official visit to Lawrence.
The June trip to Kansas was the five-star’s second visit, pairing with an unofficial trip he took when he was in eighth grade. Peterson is yet to set a commitment date and may take additional visits this fall, but Kansas has established itself as the pace-setter for the time being.
It’s probably also worth noting that Peterson signed a major NIL deal with adidas last November, and Kansas is one of the company’s flagship athletic programs.
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2. OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes have a fighting chance, but things will have to go well during Peterson’s scheduled Aug.1 official visit in order for head coach Jake Diebler and company to overtake the Jayhawks as the presumed front-runners. Such a thing is not unthinkable, obviously, as Peterson is an Ohio native and was born in Canton, just 125 miles away from the Buckeyes’ Columbus campus.
There probably isn’t a ton separating Kansas and Ohio State, and it seems as though the Buckeyes are, by far, the biggest threat to supplanting KU atop this list down the stretch.
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3. KENTUCKY
The Wildcats are worth monitoring for a couple of reasons. The fact that Peterson is familiar with the program having visited back in March, when John Calipari was still running the show, is part of it. More encouraging, however, is the fact that he says he hopes to return for a second official in order to get acquainted with life under new head coach Mark Pope and his staff.
Peterson has not named a date for his impending return trip to Lexington, but Kentucky could become a serious player if the trip does, in fact, take place.
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4. USC
The Trojans remain in the hunt to land Peterson based mostly on the relationship he’s built with Trojans head coach Eric Musselman, who recruited the five-star guard while coaching at Arkansas prior to taking the USC gig this offseason.
Peterson is yet to visit campus but plans to do so this fall.
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5. NORTH CAROLINA
There feels like a growing gap between North Carolina and the four programs listed in front of it here, as buzz linking the Tar Heels and Peterson has become muffled in recent weeks, and talk about a possible fall visit seems to have faded.
Hubert Davis’ program could shoot up the pecking order at warp speed should that interest reignite and Peterson end up on North Carolina’s campus for a visit, however.
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6. LOUISVILLE AND WASHINGTON
Both the Cardinals and Huskies feel like longshots to actually land Peterson, but he’s considering visiting both programs, so neither can be ruled out completely. How seriously each is to be taken will become more obvious should the trips, which have not been scheduled at this time, become reality.