Darryn Peterson is leaving Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and will transfer to Huntington Prep in West Virginia for his junior year of high school.
Peterson , a 6-foot-5 guard, announced the decision on social media Wednesday night. He scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons at CVCA. He could not be reached for comment.
Peterson , 16, was a standout for CVCA as a freshman and sophomore, earning Division II All-Ohio and All-Northeast Inland District honors for both seasons. He concluded his sophomore season in 2023 as the Principals Athletic Conference and Division II Northeast Inland District Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Ohio Mr. Basketball Award.
Peterson averaged 31 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.3 assists as a sophomore for the Royals (18-7), who were Division II district runners-up. He shot approximately 56 percent from the field, including around 42 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
Peterson has several college scholarship offers, including from Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Kansas, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Akron, Southern California, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Cincinnati, Cleveland State, LSU, Maryland, St. John's, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State, West Virginia and Xavier.
His father, Darryl Peterson II, played basketball at Western Hills High School in Cincinnati from 1997-2001 and at the University of Akron from 2001-2006. He was teammates at Akron with CVCA coach Matt Futch, who previously played and coached at Buchtel.
"Me and Darryl are great friends," Futch said. "Darryn is in a unique position because I consider him as like a nephew and Darryl is like a brother I never had. Both of us are the only child in our families. We talked. He kept me in on their thought process and the decisions and options that they were faced with going into the summer."
Darryn Peterson is ranked No. 5 in the country by ESPN in the class of 2025.
"Recently, we had a discussion about the options that Darryn had," Futch said. "I needed the direction that I needed to go to in terms of the program I have here at CVCA. He has been respectful of that as much as he could. He shared with me earlier this week some of their plans of what they were going to do and I kind of knew it was going to be Huntington Prep.
"I would love to have coached him at least another year, but that wasn't in the plans in terms of what God has planned. I am grateful to have coached some really good players. Two really good players [ Chris Livingston being the other] over the last four years and I think with Darryn and his situation being here with us and my reasoning to go to CVCA, I have been able to share with him about some of the values and fundamentals of life and that foundation of having an understanding of who God is and how God should lead him.
"Darryn has been receptive and he is rooted in that. I am excited to see what more God will do in his life and his family's life."
Peterson finished the tournament averaging 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists. USA defeated Puerto Rico (96-61), Argentina (113-52) and Mexico (122-53) in group play, Uruguay (123-45) in a quarterfinal, Puerto Rico (122-63) in a semifinal and Canada (118-36) in the final.
Futch said "name, image and likeness" also played a role in Peterson's decision to transfer to Huntington Prep.
"We don't have NIL deals in Ohio [for high school student-athletes]," Futch said. "That was a lot in the reasoning and decision making that they had to go into making this decision. You gotta put yourself in position as a young person to take advantage of that. That can be life changing [money]. ... That played a major role in this decision because Ohio does not have NIL."
Peterson averaged 24 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.0 assists as a freshman at CVCA for the Division II district runners-up Royals (16-8). He shot approximately 51 percent from the field goal, including around 43 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
CVCA was a Division II district semifinalist the season before Peterson arrived, which was Futch's first with the Royals. Peterson starred at Hartford Middle School in Canton before enrolling at CVCA.
Futch and Darryl Peterson II played for former Akron coaches Dan Hipsher and Keith Dambrot.
"When I was coming into college from Buchtel, Darryl was actually the player who showed me around at Akron," Futch said. "He was at Akron the year before I was. He is a great friend. ... It was a good position for us here at CVCA to be that foundation of development for a talent like Darryn. I am excited to see what happens. I know good things are going to happy for him and his family."
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Darryn Peterson leaves CVCA and transfers to Huntington Prep
