Ohio State 'up there' for star 2025 guard Darryn Peterson as he moves to Huntington Prep
There’s a sequence of events more than 20 years in the making that led Darryn Peterson to Huntington Prep.
After two seasons at Cuyahoga Valley (Ohio) Christian Academy, where he blossomed into one of the nation’s top prep basketball players, the five-star guard in the 2025 class will continue his career at the school in Huntington, West Virginia. While elite recruits often change schools, sometimes multiple times, this move was something that was set in motion before he was even born.
In the early 2000s, Peterson’s father, Darryl, left his hometown of Cincinnati to play college basketball for the University of Akron, where he averaged 11.2 points from 2002-06 as one of the most prolific scorers in program history. So when his son, Darryn, already a highly rated basketball recruit, suffered a broken foot in eighth grade, Darryl Peterson wanted to make sure he played prep basketball for a coach he could trust to help him progress with the appropriate pace.
Enter CVCA, where Peterson’s former Akron teammate, Matt Futch, was head coach.
“He’s like, ‘Hey, give me the first two years to implement the foundation with the spiritual part, the academic part, the hard work,’ ” Darryl Peterson said. “ ‘Give me two years. I want him to stay for four, but if you have to go I understand.’ ”
'He wants to prove he’s the best regardless of class'
In two years, Peterson was named first-team all-state in Division II. He came back from the foot injury to average 26.1 points per game as a freshman and grew that to 31.7 as a sophomore while finishing as a finalist for Ohio Mr. Basketball honors. Eyeing the back half of his prep career, the 6-5, 195-pound guard had a goal in mind: a high school national championship, something he would not be able to attain at CVCA.
After evaluating their options as a family, Peterson chose Huntington Prep ahead of nearby Western Reserve Academy for that reason above all others.
“At this point now, Darryn’s goal is, he already feels like he’s the best in 2025,” his dad said. “Now he wants to prove he’s the best regardless of class and in order to do that we had to get on that national stage, play that national schedule and against those national guys all year round. Iron sharpens iron. Our goal is to be a professional basketball player, play college basketball, so I want to put him in those types of environments and situations so once we get to that point he’s prepared.”
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The national recruiting rankings bear our Darryl Peterson’s thoughts. Darryn Peterson is the No. 2 national prospect in the 2025 class according to both 247Sports.com and ESPN. In an update published Sept. 1, ESPN national recruiting director Paul Biancardi listed him as the No. 6 prospect regardless of class, describing him as “an excellent player with a promising future.”
Peterson is listed as a shooting guard, but his father said that while he was with Team USA a move to point guard helped bring out a new element to his game.
“(They) put the ball in his hands and said, ‘You’re a point guard now. Go make other guys better. We know that you’re ‘Bucket Jones’ and can go get 30 every night, but let’s see if you can get 20, 10 and 10,’ ” Darryl Peterson said. “(They) challenged him to get triple-doubles and start making other guys better.”
With Team USA’s U16 team, Peterson tied for second on the team at 16.8 points per game and added 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists with a team-best 23.3 efficiency rating in six games at the FIBA U16 Men's Americas Championship. The United States easily captured the gold medal, winning the final 118-36 over Canada, and Peterson earned all-tournament team honors.
Peterson’s father said a family loss during the last year has helped his son reach a higher level of devotion to the game. On Jan. 4, Darryl Peterson’s mother, Yvonne Peterson, passed away, and her loss had a significant impact on Darryn Peterson.
“We talked to my mom one day and she was gone the next,” his father said. “It really developed a sense of urgency for him. Everything he did, he did it like it was his last. We were shooting a thousand shots; he wanted to shoot 1,001. Everything was just above and beyond at that point. He wanted to be the first one there, the last one to leave, win all the line drills.”
Where does Ohio State basketball stand in Darryn Peterson’s recruitment?
The Peterson family has plenty of experience in navigating the world of recruiting. Darryl Peterson went through it before signing with Akron and his son, Darryl Peterson III, opened this season as a starting linebacker for Wisconsin’s football team.
Those experiences, plus ones that come with Darryl Peterson’s role as director of the Ohio Phenom AAU program, are helping to guide the five-star prospect through his recruitment.
“It’s about finding the right fit, not just the name of the school but the fit,” he said. “The offensive style, the coaches, developing relationships. Me going through that stuff makes it easy for us where we’re just trying to find the best fit for Darryn where he’s comfortable.”
This fall, that means scheduling unofficial visits. According to Darryl Peterson, his son will visit Kentucky on Oct. 14 and Ohio State on Oct. 21 with other visits to Arkansas, North Carolina and Kansas still being finalized. He has previously visited Ohio State. Official visits will be taken after his junior season of both prep and AAU ball is complete.
One difference from when the elder Peterson was being recruited: college basketball isn’t the only avenue for his son to pursue on his way to a professional career. The family has heard overtures from professional leagues overseas as well as Overtime Elite, but he said the focus is on playing college basketball.
“A lot of those places are reaching out and it’s getting pretty attractive with the money involved and the millions they’re offering, going overseas tax-free and all these different leagues, but one thing I never got to do was go to the NCAA (Tournament) and dance,” he said. “The furthest I ever went was the NIT, so Darryn going to the NCAA dance is personal for him. He wants to play in March Madness and I’m supporting that, because to me that’s the biggest stage in basketball.”
Where that might be won’t be known for some time. Darryl Peterson said his son will be releasing a list of his top 16 schools sometime in the near future. One school that will feature, and is high on the list, is Ohio State. The Buckeyes offered him a scholarship before his first game of high school, and he was the first player in the 2025 class they offered.
“Back in my day, a player like Darryn had to go to Duke or Kentucky or North Carolina to be successful,” he said. “Well, not anymore. It’s not like that anymore with NIL and things like that. We’re a close-knit, hometown people. We’ve been Ohio all our lives. It’s important to us that Ohio State knows that they’re in the top conversation.
“That’s easier for us. As a family, we would want to be where he is, so conveniently Ohio State is a great fit for us. It’s down the street. We wouldn’t have to pick up and uproot the family.”
The opportunity to profit from name, image and likeness rights is something Darryl Peterson said is a factor but not the driving one in his son’s decision.
“I see a lot of people going to different schools because of NIL and the most money,” he said. “That’s not our situation. I feel like the money’s gonna come, so we’re going to make sure it’s the right fit, right situation and we’ve got to feel good about it. I told him, ‘We’ve come this far and haven’t had millions, so what’s waiting it out?’ ”
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Ohio State basketball alumni connect with Darryn Peterson
Darryl Peterson said his son has ties with two former one-and-done Buckeyes with ties to Northeast Ohio: Malaki Branham and Kosta Koufos. According to the elder Peterson, Branham cautioned Darryn Peterson from trying to reclassify to the 2024 class. Branham was the Big Ten freshman of the year in 2021-22 and went No. 20 in the NBA draft.
“(Darryn) communicates with him on the phone,” Darryl Peterson said. “He asks, ‘How is Ohio State? Tell me about the offense.’ Those kinds of questions. He asks him real questions.”
The same goes for Koufos, who played for Ohio State during the 2007-08 season and was taken No. 23 overall in the 2008 NBA draft.
“He’s Ohio State alumni, so he talks about no matter what, no alumni is better than Ohio State,” Darryl Peterson said. “When (Koufos) comes back home, just the fan base and everything he talks about life after basketball with Ohio State, that stuff means a lot to us. That stuff is important. Ohio State is up there.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Top 2025 guard Darryn Peterson to visit Ohio State, others this fall
