Maryland the First Offer for Nationally Ranked Baltimore Freshman
Derik Queen, a rising freshman forward considered to be one of the top upcoming prospects in Baltimore, picked up his first offer from Maryland on Monday, his AAU team announced.
Queen earned his offer after a strong performance with Under Armour-sponsored Team Thrill at the Beltway Battle Showcase in Delaware last weekend, an event that was live-streamed for college coaches, but he’s reportedly been on the Terps’ radar since he was in fifth grade. He’s ranked as a top-five player in class of 2024 by multiple outlets, including Coast 2 Coast Prep, which has him No. 2 overall behind North Carolina’s Jahseem Felton.
The 6-foot-8 Queen is the third member of the 2024 class to land an offer from Maryland and another early find for longtime Terps assistant Bino Ranson, a Baltimore native who’s responsible for all three of Maryland’s commits in 2021, including Charm City products Ike Cornish and Julian Reese. He’s slated to join Reese at St. Frances Academy for his freshman season.
Queen has impressive size for his age, but what makes him such an intriguing prospect is his point-forward skillset. He shares physical and stylistic similarities to Maryland forward Jairus Hamilton, but he’s bigger and more highly regarded at the same stage, making him a can’t-miss prospect.
Queen is the second consensus top-five player to earn an offer from Maryland in the class of 2024, joining point guard Tayshawn Bridges, a Wisconsin native who plays for the same AAU program as the most recent Terps commit James Graham III. The Terps also offered class of 2024 Stepinac (NY) forward James Hogarth last week, whose high school coach worked with Ranson at Marist.
Note: Maryland also reached out to a pair of Queen's AAU teammates, 2022 guards Christian Winborne (Gilman) and Bryce Lindsay (Poly). Winborne holds offers from LSU, Xavier, Kansas State and more, while Howard, Mount St. Mary's and Bryant have ante'd up for Lindsay.
