ESPN 100 Wing Braydon Hawthorne is committed to Kentucky

The ESPN 100 Braydon Hawthorne escoupe, one of the fastest prospects in the senior class, announced its commitment to Kentucky on Tuesday.

Hawthorne initially signed with Virginia-Western last fall, but was won from mountaineers after the departure of Darian Devries for Indiana. After reopening his recruitment, Hawthorne went to Kentucky, Duke, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, as well as Virginia-Western under the new Ross Hodge coach.

But Kentucky coach Mark Pope made Hawthorne a priority immediately after returning to the market and continued his pursuit in the last two months.

“When I got won of Virginia-Western when there was a change of coach, Mark Pope was the first head coach to call. This meant a lot,” Hawthorne told ESPN. “(Deputy coach) Jason Hart has been recruiting me for a long time and all the staff was wonderful.”

“I have an excellent relationship with coach Pope and the staff. We had many conversations on basketball and life. I was a fan of Kentucky for life. It means everything for me.”

When Hawthorne first signed up in Virginia-Western, the other schools involved were Old Dominion and Ohio University. But the 6-foot 8-inch wing had a great senior season at Huntington Prep (Virginia-Western) and increased in the ESPN 100 ranking, sliding at n ° 81.

Late flowering perspective with elite physical measures, mobility, athletics and the development of rating skills, Hawthorne can play forward and is effective both in painting and the perimeter. It covers the soil and narrows the soil to the defense, with the ability to create deviations, flights and shots blocked with its length and athletics. As its framework fills up and its skills develop, it has a potential advantage of the NBA.

“His Wingspan and his advantage of 7-3 draw attention, and his production catches up his potential,” said Huntington’s assistant coach Dustin Woody. The Pope and Kentucky bring 10 new players for the 2025-26 season, including six transfers and a recruitment class among the first 10.

Hawthorne is the third ESPN 100 hope in the Kentucky class in 2025, joining Jasper Johnson (n ° 18) and Malachi Moreno (n ° 25). The international andrija Jelavic perspective is also part of the inbound class of the Wildcats.

“They see me as a versatile room that can play several positions,” said Hawthorne. “I know I have to save my playing time and I’m ready to work for that.”