Everything you need to know about KU basketball’s stellar week-long signing period
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self and his three assistants responsible for the recruitment of high school, junior college and portal players combined to corral three highly-regarded prep prospects during the week-long early signing period that was to conclude at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
The trio of Darryn Peterson, Bryson Tiller and Samis Calderon at this stage of the recruiting year has been ranked No. 3 nationally by 247Sports and No. 5 overall by both Rivals and On3.
“I think it’s going to be that,” KU coach Bill Self said of the high school portion of his 2025 recruiting class being ranked in the top 5 once the class is completed next spring with potential transfer additions.
“I think we signed three pros,” Self added in assessing the three prep players who signed with the Jayhawks.
Duke’s class of Cameron and Cayden Boozer, Shelton Henderson and Nikolas Khamenia is ranked No. 1 by 247Sports, Rivals and On3. UConn, ranked second nationally by On3 and 247Sports and third by Rivals, has signed Eric Reabe, Braylon Mullins, Jacob Furphy and Darius Adams.
Also ranked in the top 5 by the three recruiting services: Kentucky’s class of Acaden Lewis, Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno and Arkansas’ class of Darius Acuff, Meleek Thomas and Isaiah Sealy.
“It was good to get the three that we got,” Self said. “Getting high school kids and portal kids, or wherever they come from, is great. But if they are not the right ones, getting three early really doesn’t mean much. I think we got the three we needed to get early. It’s going to be a fun group.”
The headliner in KU’s class is Darryn Peterson, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound senior guard from Prolific Prep in Napa, California, ranked No. 3 nationally by all the recruiting services.
Self was asked to come up with a player comparison for Peterson.
“I would from a potential standpoint, Andrew (Wiggins),” Self said of the former KU one-and-done wing, now in his 11th year in the NBA. “There’s probably no one as complete a guy at his age that we’ve ever recruited. From an impact standpoint, Andrew, B-Rush (Brandon Rush), Josh (Jackson), players that maybe that you knew coming here Day 1 they would be (impact players). Darryn is one of those kind of guys.”
Peterson, who is originally from Canton, Ohio, chose KU over USC, Ohio State and Kansas State.
“The bottom line is: Will he play point? Yes,” Self said of Peterson. “Will he play off the ball? Yes. He can do a lot of things.”
Self is fired up about the signing of such an elite high schooler, who had quite a game for Prolific Prep on Tuesday. Peterson scored 33 points on 11-of-17 shooting with eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals in a 66-54 victory over Columbus High School of Miami, Florida. Columbus High is led by Duke signees Cameron and Cayden Boozer. Cameron went for 15 points and nine boards and Cayden seven points, four boards and three steals.
“This is one of the best recruiting moments that Kansas basketball has had in decades,” Self said. “Darryn is an all-around guard that scores at all levels and is also a terrific facilitator and defender. He has been well drilled and has a toughness about him being raised in a family where his brother is a successful football player at Wisconsin. He was as important as any recruit we have recruited in recent memory. Coach (Kurtis) Townsend did a great job as the lead recruiter. Darryn can be a catalyst to also draw other players to our program.”
Tiller, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound senior power forward out of the Overtime Elite program in Atlanta, is ranked No. 21 by 247Sports and Rivals, No. 23 by On3 and No. 26 by ESPN.
He chose KU over Auburn, Indiana and Georgia Tech.
“Bryson is ultra talented,” Self said. “If he hadn’t gotten hurt (foot injury) he would be a top 5, top 7 kid in the class. He hasn’t been able to do much in the last six or eight months, but he’s talented. He’s 6-10 and can play anywhere on the floor.”
Tiller, who is from Atlanta, also the home of Overtime Elite, has a 7-foot-3 wingspan.
“His upside is undeniable, and he’s been well trained. Bryson provides a versatility for us that he can play some 5, but he can also play the 4, very similar to the way KJ (Adams) has in his KU career,” Self said. “This was another good get for us. KT (Townsend) was the point man on Bryson and has been recruiting him going back to Bryson’s sophomore year.”
Tiller’s Overtime Elite teammate, Calderon, is a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward from Espirito Santo, Brazil ranked No. 55 by 247Sports and No. 128 by On3. He’s not ranked yet by ESPN or Rivals. One analyst recently said he expects Calderon to wind up a top-50 prospect when rankings are completed for this class of 2025 in the spring.
“Samis is a guy we have been very excited about the last several months,” Self said. “He has great size at 6-8 and he can play multiple positions on the perimeter. Samis has a really nice shooting touch that can stretch the defense.
“Samis has been trained well at OTE that should make the transition into major college basketball somewhat seamless. KT has done a terrific job on recruiting Samis. We feel his best ball is ahead of him.”
Asked for a player comparison, Self said: “Could he be a Kelly (Oubre)? Could he be somebody like that? Could he be a bigger Ochai (Agbaji) type? That’s pretty tough to get there, but from a raw talent standpoint, he’s 6-7, his wingspan is 7-2 and he can shoot and put his elbows above the rim. There’s some nice things to work with there.”
Self said Calderon stood out at an Overtime Elite Pro Day attended by Self and assistant coaches Townsend, Norm Roberts and Jeremy Case.
“He just looks different than others,” Self said of the player who chose KU over Michigan, Tennessee and Auburn. “We knew of him. Norm (Roberts) had seen him play, I believe in Hungary (at 2023 FIBA Under 19 world championships). At that point in time, he probably wasn’t as big a target, but after we saw him work out down there, we’re like, ‘Ooh you know, this is a guy that we need to make a priority.’”
There’s another current high school player who also may be playing basketball for the Jayhawks in 2025-26. Jaden Nickens, a four-star football wide receiver from Sierra Canyon High in California, recently committed to play both football and hoops at KU. He chose KU over Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and California.
KU will lose six scholarship seniors after the season, meaning the Jayhawks will have at least five available scholarships (KU must vacate one scholarship to complete a self-imposed NCAA penalty). The Jayhawks also could lose one or more players with remaining eligibility to the 2025 NBA Draft.
However the NCAA is expected to increase available scholarships from 13 to 15 for men’s basketball teams.
“I don’t know that we could sign another high school kid,” Self said. “I think four is maybe too many and three is probably the max.”
