Kentucky head coach Mark Pope re-offers 5-star SG Darryn Peterson

Darryn Peterson was one of John Calipari’s top recruiting targets for Kentucky from the class of 2025. But once Calipari accepted the head coaching job at Arkansas, Peterson’s status with the Wildcats went up into the air.

Until now, that is. Peterson has been re-offered by head coach Mark Pope and the new Kentucky staff.

“Excited to announce that The University of Kentucky and Coach Pope has re offered Phenom Pg Darryn ‘Bucket Jones’ Peterson,” Darryn’s father Darryl posted to Instagram on Saturday morning.

Peterson is a 6-foot-5, 195-pound shooting guard who is ranked No. 3 overall in the 2025 class, per the On3 Industry Ranking. Originally from Ohio, he now plays for Huntington Prep (WV).

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At the time of his first offer from UK, Peterson was the very first 2025 recruit to receive an official scholarship from Calipari. Peterson took an official visit to Lexington back in March and was at Rupp Arena to watch Kentucky take on Vanderbilt. The Wildcats cracked his Top 8 back in January, but another team that also made the cut was the Baylor Bears.

Why is that notable? Because Baylor’s top recruiter, Alvin Brooks III, recently joined Pope’s staff in Lexington. Along with already having the familiarity of being on UK’s campus, Peterson now shares a connection with a coach who has been recruiting him. The Wildcats will certainly have a shot at landing the nation’s top-ranked shooting guard.

Kansas has long been considered the biggest threat to steal Peterson away from Calipari and Kentucky. The Jayhawks might have a leg up as of right now with the coaching change in Lexington, but Pope is going to make Bill Self work for it.