Darryn Peterson’s No. 1 Pick Odds in 2026 NBA Draft Continue to Climb

One major storyline of the college basketball season this year has been which star-studded freshman will come out on top as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft in June.

There are a lot of players who are currently in the conversation, including Duke’s Cameron Boozer – who is currently the front-runner to win the Naismith Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year award – and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa. Other freshmen frequently listed among the top 10 odds to go No. 1 are Arizona’s Koa Peat, Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance, Houston’s Kingston Flemings, and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson.

But there’s one player who currently stands above the rest, and that is KU’s own Darryn Peterson.

The front-runner

Aside from the injuries, Peterson has looked every bit like the star everyone expected him to be coming into this season.

He’s currently averaging 21.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game in an average of just 27.3 minutes per game in 12 appearances. Not once has he failed to score in double digits, and he has never scored below 16 points in a given game.

And after showing up big in back-t0-back games versus top 25 opponents in BYU and Texas Tech, Peterson is seeing his odds of becoming the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft this summer continue to grow stronger.

Prior to the BYU game last Saturday, Peterson’s odds had him as a slight favorite. Since then, his odds have risen to make him an even heavier favorite, according to some sportsbooks.

• BetMGM: -135

• DraftKings: -210

• FanDuel: -400

It’s no surprise to see Peterson’s odds climb with the type of season he’s having. In fact, Peterson is on pace to have the greatest season of any KU freshman this century.

His 21.1 point scoring average (if it holds) would be the highest of any freshman in school history – surpassing the 17.1 scoring average set by former Kansas guard Andrew Wiggins (2013-14). He would also become one of just four KU freshmen ever to average more than 15 points per game (ppg) along with Wiggins, Josh Jackson (16.3 ppg in 2016-17), and Ben McLemore (15.9 ppg in 2012-13).

And if Peterson does become the No. 1 pick, he will be just the third Jayhawk all time to achieve that accomplishment.

Danny Manning was the first to do so when he was drafted No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1988 NBA Draft. It took another 26 years before a KU player was selected with the first pick when Wiggins was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers (and then traded to Minnesota) in 2014.

Peterson has all the makings of an NBA franchise player. He can drive, he can shoot, he can rebound, defend, you name it. He does it all and he does it all well with a calm, cool demeanor.

In short: he’s got No. 1 pick written all over him.