Maryland landed a massive commitment on the recruiting trail on Wednesday evening when five-star center and Baltimore native Derik Queen went public with his decision, giving head coach Kevin Willard and the staff a key piece to reignite local recruiting efforts with the offseason approaching.
Willard will now look to pair Queen with an experienced point guard to run the offense, filling Jahmir Young’s shoes, while the commitment from the Baltimore native could have a ripple effect on the high school recruiting scene. It shouldn’t be a surprise that includes 2025 four-star point guard Tyler Jackson, who teamed up with Queen for two seasons at St. Frances.
Auburn has made themselves a player since Jackson transferred to OTE, while Syracuse was the last school to host him for an official beginning on Jan. 26. “I liked it up there, first time seeing everything. They treated me well,” Jackson added. Ole Miss is also in the mix for an official visit with Alabama also involved, but Jackson now has several familiar faces in College Park to bolster the Terps’ efforts heading into the spring.
“He’s up there now, they got him,” Jackson told IBG. “I like Maryland and I like that they’re stacking local guys. All the SFA guys. I like the fact that Jahn [Lamothe], Derik [Queen] and [Julian Reese] are all up there. That’s going to be a real good team next year and they’re my guys so I’m [going to] be watching them for sure.”
Jackson took advantage of being back in the area for winter break to make the 45-minute trip to College Park for the game against Nicholls, then again for the Coppin State game alongside Derik Queen and Queen’s mom. It might not be long until the top-50 prospect makes his way back to College Park.
“I’ve been talking to Maryland about setting up an official [visit] for sure. We haven’t talked about dates specifically yet but I want to get that one set up.” Assistant David Cox has spearheaded early efforts with Jackson, but he admitted the contact with the full staff has been consistent since he last stepped foot on campus.
“All the coaches, honestly. They all hit me up now. Coach Cox, coach [Greg] Manning too, coach [Mike] Jones so it’s been solid.”
Tyler Jackson is rated a four-star guard and a 95 overall by On3, sitting as the 44th-best prospect in the 2025 class.
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