It has been one of the best weeks in a long time for Kansas basketball. The team begins its regular season tonight against Howard, and Bill Self made a splash with the program’s best high school recruiting addition in nearly a decade.
Darryn Peterson was one of the most sought-after players in basketball, and he could bring a major boost to KU’s recruiting appeal. Many other prospects have visited or are considering Kansas as their potential destination. The next commitment could come in the not-so-distant future.
Who will Kansas basketball add next on the recruiting trail?
Kansas has been in close contact with several recruits over the past few months. However, the most significant name Jayhawk fans should watch for is Bryson Tiller.
A 5-star forward who plays for the City Reapers at Overtime Elite, Tiller is one of the best big men in the Class of 2025. He visited in June and was a candidate to go pro early, but it has become more likely that he will spend a year or two in college first. Coach Self personally visited him in September, which raised eyebrows around the recruiting community.
On3 analyst Jamie Shaw predicted last month that Tiller would commit to Kansas. He also had Peterson ending up with the Jayhawks, and that obviously came to fruition. While Peterson was more of a sure thing, that signals that the coaching staff knows who the next target may be.
Tiller is a top-20 recruit with offers from numerous schools. However, KU has stayed in touch with some under-the-radar international prospects. 4-star Senegalese center Mouhamed Sylla embarked on a visit to KU in October, and Brazilian forward Samis Calderon is currently on campus until Nov. 5.
Aside from Tiller and those two players, there isn't much information about who KU might target next. No. 1 overall prospect AJ Dybantsa included Kansas in his final seven list, but it is well-known that BYU is the favorite to land him. Longtime target Sebastian Williams-Adams eliminated Kansas in his recruitment last week.
Peterson was clearly the priority recruiting-wise, and for good reason. However, Kansas will lose more than half of its production to graduation and potentially more to the NBA Draft. It appears as though Self is banking on landing a player of Tiller's caliber unless he plans to revamp the roster strictly through the transfer portal in the offseason.