Five-star plus+ SG Darryn Peterson lists Ohio State in top eight

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is in the top eight for five-star plus+ shooting guard Darryn Peterson, the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2025 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Peterson — a Canton, Ohio, native who plays at Huntingon Prep in West Virginia — is also considering Arkansas, Baylor, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and North Carolina.

Peterson is open to the professional route as well, according to On3 national basketball reporter Joe Tipton.

The 6-foot-5 junior talked with On3 senior national recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw about each of the schools he plans to visit in the New Year.

Here’s what Peterson said about Ohio State:

 “They’re the hometown school,” he told Shaw in late December after a live viewing at the Beach Ball Classic. “To be a hometown hero is big, you know, just to stay home. I mean, we’ll see. Coach [Chris] Holtmann and them have been coming down to Huntington to see me, so that is big for me to see them come to see me. A lot of coaches just aren’t doing that drive.”

Peterson is the first high school athlete to sign an NIL deal with adidas. That doesn’t necessarily mean he will play for an adidas-sponsored program at the collegiate level, however.

But, of his eight listed schools, two are adidas sponsored for basketball: Indiana and Kansas. Ohio State basketball is sponsored by Nike.

Peterson scored more than 1,000 points his first two seasons of high school basketball at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Canton, where he earned Division II All-Ohio and All-Northeast Inland recognition each of those years.

As a sophomore, Peterson was a finalist for the Ohio Mr. Basketball Award. He averaged 31 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.3 assists per game that season in 2022-23.

Ahead of this season, he transferred to Huntington Prep.

Peterson also posted 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the United States’ U16 national team in the FIBA Americas championship.

Scouting Report

“Darryn Peterson has a basketball player’s frame; long arms with broad shoulders. He is a smooth player with the ball in his hands. Comfortable handling in the half and the full court. Peterson can get downhill and touch the paint where he is a crafty finisher at the rim. He also has the explosion to dunk, in traffic. The jump shot needs to continue to develop as he is currently a streaky shooter from beyond the arc. Peterson creates offense for himself, already at a high rate. There is more growth and upside to go as he tracks as one of the nation’s top prospects in his class.” – On3’s Jamie Shaw