Recruiting

Derik Queen ends high school career as consensus top-25 prospect

Montverde Academy (FL) forward and Maryland signee Derik Queen ends his high school career as a consensus top-25 prospect.

With the high school basketball season complete, Derik Queen checked in as the 24th-best prospect in On3’s final rankings and the fifth-best center behind Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State), Khaman Maluach (Duke), Aiden Sherrell (Alabama) and Flory Bidunga (Kansas). ESPN was more bullish on Queen, who checked in as the nation’s eighth-best prospect and top center while 247 ranked Queen as 12th-best prospect and third-best center behind Maluach and Quaintance.

Queen was one of several dominant pieces for a Montverde team that finished with a perfect season, as the 6-foot-10 signee averaged 16.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He was also named a MaxPreps Second Team All-American after leading Montverde to the Chipotle National Championship, where he earned All-Tournament honors.

His dominance through his senior season earned him an invite to the McDonald’s All-America Game, where he was named co-MVP after posting 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Queen became the first Terp since Adrian Branch to earn MVP honors.

The prized signee will head to College Park next month and join the team for workouts as he prepares to step into a likely starting role alongside star senior Julian Reese as the St. Frances duo pair up once again to solidify the frontcourt for head coach Kevin Willard.

Queen committed to Maryland over Indiana, Houston and Kansas back in March before making his commitment official in mid-April, becoming the highest rated recruit to sign with Maryland since Diamond Stone back in 2015.

“We are excited to have Derik coming home to be a Terp,” Kevin Willard said via press release. “Derik has a tremendous skillset on both sides of the floor. He is a player that wants to make an impact on our program and we think he can do that early in his career.”

Queen was one of two high school signees for Maryland in the 2024 class as Mount Zion Prep (MD) three-star guard Malachi Palmer made his pledge official last month.