Kansas men’s basketball lands first top 5 recruit since 2016

A year after Kansas men’s basketball was officially placed on probation without a postseason ban in relation to the FBI investigation that started in 2017, the Jayhawks signaled that their recruitment trail is back to normal. For the first time in eight years, the team got the commitment of a top-five player in his respective class.

Darryn Peterson, a 6-foot-5 combo guard ranked No. 3 in the class of 2025 on the 247Sports Composite, committed to Kansas on Friday, according to the Athletic. The Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) selected the Jayhawks over Kansas State, USC and Ohio State, in addition to about 20 other schools that offered him, per 247Sports.

It’s the top-ranked recruit since before the investigation started.

In October 2023, the program was placed on a three-year probation and vacated its 2018 Final Four appearance and other wins that season in which Silvio de Sousa participated. In addition, the team self-imposed sanctions in November 2022 in which head coach Bill Self and assistant coach Kurtis Townsend received short suspensions and were barred from off-campus recruiting for four months. A reduced number of official visits and total scholarships, plus a six-week ban on recruiting communications, were also levied, according to ESPN.

Kansas recruiting took a step back over the years that this investigation was underway and the threat of a more severe punishment was in play. It wasn’t a massive step back — the Jayhawks still secured five-star athletes — but it wasn’t to the level of 2013-16 when the program had five top-five recruits, including two ranked No. 1 in the class:

• 2013: No. 1 Andrew Wiggins

• 2014: No. 4 Cliff Alexander; No. 5 Kelly Oubre

• 2015: No. 4 Cheick Diallo

• 2016: No. 1 Josh Jackson

Despite the issues looming, Kansas men’s basketball remained among the top teams almost yearly. In addition to the vacated 2018 Elite Eight appearance, the team in 2020 went 28-3 (a winning percentage of 90.3%) before COVID eliminated that year’s March Madness. In 2022, the Jayhawks won the National Championship. Behind Self, the team matched up with anyone, and they didn’t have the same recruitment power behind them as they had over the first decade of his reign as coach.

Peterson’s commitment adds a new element (or rather, brings back an old element). According to Athletic reporter Tobias Bass, Peterson averaged 28.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, along with a ridiculous 4.2 steals and 3.0 blocks in the 3SSB circuit. With Prolific Prep, one of the top teams in the nation, Peterson will have a chance to show his skill on a national schedule.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Jayhawks make big recruiting splash with Darryn Peterson commitment