BY ZACH SMART
Class of 2027 point guard Cayden Daughtry is coming off a historic showing last month at Peach Jam.
The prolific scoring, undersized 6-foot-1, 160-pound Daughtry shredded through defenses at a furious pace, with his 33-point barrage propelling his Florida Rebels team to a pulsating 71-60 victory over Drive Nation in the Peach Jam title in North Augusta, S.C.
Boasting a knack for the big shot as a long range trigger man and an adeptness for spurring a quick paced attack with the ball in his hands, Daughtry registered gaudy statistics.
He led the EYBL in scoring at 28 PPG, while also averaging six assists and five boards. In the 30th year of Peach Jam, Daughtry –who is the first ever regular season MVP of the EYBL–left a lasting legacy at the storied event.
After accumulating in the vicinity of 30+ offers, Daughtry recently narrowed a striking, laundry list of high major suitors down to 14.
He announced yesterday that he would be considering Iowa, Miami, UConn, Florida, Arkansas, Michigan, USC, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Florida State, Villanova, Providence and Vanderbilt.
On Monday, Daughtry released his set list of official visits. He will culminate the month with Florida State (Aug. 28-30) before the South Florida native makes the trek up to Tennessee (Sept. 4-6).
He then has visits slated for Iowa (Sept. 11-13), UConn (Sept. 19-21), Florida (Sept. 25-27) and Miami (October 16-18).
Florida State has been in early and often during the recruitment process, making Daughtry a priority well prior to his wild summer takeover.
“One thing I really like about (Florida State) is that they shoot a lot of 3s,” as Daughtry told ZAGSBLOG following the City of Palms tournament back in December.
“The head coach (Luke Loucks) is coming in from an NBA offense. He’s coming in keeping that mindset. They basically told me, ‘we want you to come here and shoot the ball.'”
Envisioning Daughtry as capable of the same lasting impact as Walter Clayton, whose memorable scoring binge propelled University of Florida to a 2025 national championship, Todd Golden and the Gators have been hot on Daughtry’s trail.
“Coach Golden has been illustrating the same message: they want to get me to the league as quickly as possible,” Daughtry said.
“They envision me as a one and done type of guy.”
While considering 14 different programs makes it rather difficult and perhaps too early to gauge which programs are currently front runners, it is no secret that Iowa has been consistent throughout Daughtry’s recruitment.
As a guy who watches college basketball as often as possible, Daughtry has done his due diligence on the program.
“I like how they are coming in with a new coaching staff,” Daughtry explained back in December.
“It’s cool just knowing they have good coaches there. The way they utilize (No.16 2026 NBA draft pick) Bennet Stirtz is really cool to watch. Just making sure he gets the ball and he gets the right touches.”
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