Darryn Peterson the NBA draft prospect generating most buzz among scouts

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson has barely played this season, but he is already generating more excitement among NBA scouts than any other 2026 draft prospect.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic slotted Peterson No. 1 in his latest mock draft, ahead of Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa. Caleb Wilson of UNC checks in at No. 4, followed by Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr., while Tennessee’s Nate Ament slides out of the top five.

Peterson grew up in Northeast Ohio and started his high school career at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy outside Akron. (As an aside, Yours Truly is a proud CVCA alum.)

Anyway, he has appeared in only two games for Kansas so far, yet Vecenie wrote that those short glimpses were enough to reinforce why scouts are so high on him.

Peterson topped 20 points in both games, shot better than 57 percent from the field and knocked down threes. A hamstring injury has sidelined him for the past seven contests.

Even with the limited minutes, Vecenie said Peterson is the one 2026 prospect scouts talk about most. He checks all the boxes for an elite on-ball guard who can also play next to another star. He can score at all three levels, create for others, and defend with size, length and toughness.

At Adidas Eurocamp last year, he measured 6-foot-5 1/2 in shoes with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and an 8-foot-7 standing reach.

Vecenie added that Peterson’s biggest leap last season came with his playmaking. He has always been a natural scorer, but he began reading second and third levels of the defense and manipulating help defenders. Vecenie wrote that this is what separates him from the rest of the class.

If Peterson gets healthy and stays on the floor, he will only build on the early buzz.