Bill Self releases statement, reveals status of Darryn Peterson vs. Towson

Kansas true freshman point guard Darryn Peterson will not play on Tuesday night against Towson, head coach Bill Self announced. Cramping in a quad is going to keep Peterson out after first noticing it against NC State.

Self released a statement on the situation shortly before tip-off. He says Peterson will continue to work back toward full health, hoping to get back on the court for Kansas at some point.

“Darry experienced cramping in his quad against NC State on Saturday and felt similar in practice yesterday,” Self said. “He is not able to compete at full strength. He will not play tonight against Towson. He will continue to work tirelessly and prepare to compete with his teammates and represent Kansas in the near future.”

Peterson played high school basketball at Prolific Prep, where he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He was the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2025 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

There was a ton of hype surrounding Peterson before arriving in Lawrence. Many, still, believe he has a chance to be taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. However, injuries have unfortunately been a big storyline for him thus far.

Peterson has only played in four games for Kansas. He is averaging 19.3 points on 52.8% shooting from the field and 42.3% when pulling up behind the arc. You can add nearly four rebounds and three assists per game.

Bill Self speaks on Darryn Peterson injury on Monday

This is the second day in a row that Self has spoken, in some capacity, on Peterson’s injury. Monday was in front of reporters in a press conference, saying it’s not a hamstring problem. One day later, we found out it’s the quad for the star freshman.

“I have no idea,” Self said on Monday. “I don’t know. We didn’t practice yesterday. I just saw him in the hallway and he’s going to lift right now with the guys. So we’ll practice later. But obviously he had some, not hamstring-based on what I was told, but some quad cramping there. To me, you guys saw the game, it was evident to me he wasn’t moving at the pace that he’s got to move at the way people are going to guard him and that stuff. So it was obviously bothering him.”