What to know about Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson, from Ohio hometown to recruiting rankings and NBA Draft future

Billy Heyen

What to know about Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson, from Ohio hometown to recruiting rankings and NBA Draft future image

Darryn Peterson didn't take long to start up the college basketball hype train.

The highlights from his very first regular season game at Kansas started social media comparisons to Kobe Bryant. Not bad for a debut.

The spotlight gets brighter on Friday, because the Jayhawks are set to match up with North Carolina in a battle of ranked foes.

It's a worthwhile time to get caught up on the story of this freshman phenom.

MORE: 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux made his college debut

Who is Darryn Peterson?

Darryn Peterson is an 18-year old freshman basketball player for the University of Kansas.

He measures at 6-foot-5 and 206 pounds.

Where is Darryn Peterson from?

Darryn Peterson is from Canton, Ohio.

He played his high school basketball at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy for two seasons, averaging 26 points per game as a freshman and 31 points per game as a sophomore.

He spent his junior high school season at Huntington Prep in West Virginia, then his senior year at Prolific Prep in California.

Darryn Peterson recruiting rankings

Peterson was a top-three recruit in all the major services, a consensus five-star talent.

247Sports listed Peterson as No. 1. He was No. 2 on ESPN and No. 3 on Rivals, surrounded by BYU's AJ Dybantsa and Duke's Cameron Boozer.

Darryn Peterson NBA Draft projections

Peterson is widely expected to be one of the top-three picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.

The previously mentioned AJ Dybantsa of BYU and Cameron Boozer of Duke, two other freshman phenoms, are also going to be in the conversation.

Peterson is the smallest of the three, likely a true shooting guard at the NBA level.

He's been compared to a smaller Kevin Durant in addition to the Kobe comparisons, which tells you just how talented Peterson is.

The sky might not even be the limit.

More college basketball news:

Senior Editor