The Kansas Jayhawks are in the midst of rebuilding ahead of next season. After a 2025-26 campaign that ended in a 24-11 record and a second-round exit at the hands of St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament.
While there were several highs, like the emergence of cult hero Melvin Council Jr. and an impressive eight-game winning run that had Kansas beating the likes of the No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones and the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats, there were also lows of a blowout loss to Cincinnati at home and a bizarre 10-point loss at Arizona State that grounded the expectations.
Following in the patterns of ebbs and flows was freshman phenom Darryn Peterson. Peterson was highly touted as the nation’s No. 1 prospect in the 2025 high school class in what is one of the most loaded classes in recent memory, but it took no more than an exhibition against Louisville for fans to see what would turn into a season-long problem, as Peterson would miss nearly the entire second half with cramping issues that stunted a 26-point outing in just 25 minutes.
Peterson then endured a brilliant stop-and-start season where he finished averaging 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists on a solid 43.8% mark from the field. Those numbers become immensely more impressive when you consider the fact that the Prolific Prep alum did it on just 29 minutes per game and in just 24 games
Peterson’s draft stock takes hit
As the season wrapped up, it became clear that BYU’s AJ Dybantsa would probably take the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft in a few months, and you can understand why. Peterson’s cramping, hamstring issues, sprained ankle, and flu-like symptoms can make NBA general managers do a double-take before selecting Peterson, but there was a consensus that Peterson would be the second pick. However, in USA Today’s most recent mock draft, Peterson fell all the way to the No. 4 slot to the Utah Jazz.
Here is an excerpt from that article written by Bryan Kalbrosky.
“Yahoo’s Kevin O’Connor reported that some front office executives view [Caleb] Wilson with “similarly high upside” as Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson with “dramatically lower downsides” than the guard.”
Peterson finished the season with a 33.95% field goal rate over the final four games and a 24-67 mark.
“While he is certainly no longer perceived as the near-certain No. 1 overall pick that he once was due to relative inconsistency and injury issues, many scouts and evaluators still feel that Darryn Peterson is the most talented player in this class.”
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