# Darryn Peterson

Darryn Peterson (born January 17, 2007) is an American high school basketball 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. His father, Darryl Peterson II, played basketball at Western Hills High School in Cincinnati from 1997 to 2001 and at the University of Akron 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.
Peterson attended Hartford Middle School in Canton. He enrolled at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (CVCA) over nearby Canton McKinley High School 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 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.
On August 12, 2024, Peterson announced he was transferring to Prolific Prep in Napa, California for his senior season.

### 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 State, Ohio State, and USC. On November 1, 2024, he committed to playing college basketball at Kansas.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Darryn Peterson SG | Huntington, WV | Huntington Prep (WV) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 3 247Sports: 2 ESPN: 2 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023. ||||||

## National team career

Peterson represented the United States at the 2023 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship 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 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 (NIL) deal with Adidas. 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.