Darryn Peterson (born January 17, 2007) is an American

high school basketball High school basketball, also known as prep basketball, is the sport of basketball as played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. Top high school athletes often go on to play college basketball after ...

player for Prolific Prep. He is a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2025 recruiting class.

Early life and high school career

Peterson was born and raised in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

. His father, Darryl Peterson II, played basketball at Western Hills High School in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

from 1997 to 2001 and at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

from 2001 to 2006. His older brother, Darryl Peterson III, won multiple state football titles at Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron before playing at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. Peterson attended Hartford Middle School in Canton. He enrolled at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (CVCA) over nearby

Canton McKinley High School McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Ohio, United States. It is the only secondary school in the Canton City School District and has two campuses: Downtown Campus (mostly known as Early College High School or Timken H ...

due to academic reasons. Additionally, CVCA head basketball coach Matt Futch was teammates with his father at Akron. As a freshman, Peterson averaged 26.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, leading his team to a 16–8 record and an appearance in the

OHSAA The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of comp ...

Division II district title game. He was the only freshman named to the All-Ohio Division II first team despite missing the start of the season due to a foot injury. As a sophomore, Peterson averaged 31 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and 1.3 assists per game, leading CVCA to an 18–7 record and their second straight appearance in the OHSAA Division II district title game. Aside from earning first-team All-Ohio Division II honors for the second year in a row, he was named the Division II Northeast Inland District Player of the Year and a finalist for the Ohio Mr. Basketball award. On August 2, 2023, Peterson announced he was transferring to Huntington Prep School in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

. On August 12, 2024, Peterson announced he was transferring to Prolific Prep in

Napa, California Napa is the largest city and county seat of Napa County, California, Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California, United States. Located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the Bay Area, th ...

for his senior season. Peterson was named a McDonald's All-American after averaging 23.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.9 steals per game.

Recruiting

Peterson is a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2025 class, according to major recruiting services. He received his first offers from St. John's and Xavier when he was still in the eighth grade. In September 2024, Peterson narrowed a previous list of eight choices down to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, and

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. On November 1, 2024, he committed to playing

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

at Kansas. Kansas coach Bill Self said "Darryn's the best player we've recruited since we've been here. He's a special talent."

National team career

Peterson represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2023 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship The 2023 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, from 5 to 11 June 2023. The top four teams qualified for the 2024 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Tu ...

in Mexico. He averaged 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 3.3 steals in under 18 minutes per game, leading his team to a gold medal and earning all-tournament honors. Peterson recorded 13 points and seven assists in their 118–36 win against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the final.

Personal life

In November 2023, after transferring to Huntington Prep, Peterson became the first high school athlete to sign a

Name, Image and Likeness In college athletics in the United States, a student-athlete who participates in a varsity sport on any and all levels is eligible to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Historically, the National Association of Intercollegiate At ...

(NIL) deal with

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

. A few weeks later, he signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Fanatics, Inc., becoming the youngest athlete to sign a deal with a trading card company.

References

External links

USA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Darryn 2007 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Canton, Ohio Huntington Prep School alumni McDonald's High School All-Americans Shooting guards