Braydon Hawthorne officially signs with Kentucky: "(He) has the steepest trajectory of anybody"

Braydon Hawthorne is officially a Kentucky Wildcat, putting pen to paper with the program following his commitment this week, Mark Pope announced Thursday.

He joins Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno and Andrija Jelavić among first-year players for the Wildcats in 2025-26.

“Braydon Hawthorne probably has the steepest trajectory of anybody in the class of 2025,” Pope said of the newest addition. “He is a great learner, a 4.0 student and highly skilled. His ceiling is incredible, and he really wants to be here at Kentucky. I love the fact that he wants to come and compete and that he’s dying to get better every single day.”

A 6-foot-8 wing from Beckley, West Virginia, Hawthorne is a consensus four-star prospect and the fastest-rising recruit in the class of 2025. He’s currently ranked No. 35 overall and No. 9 at his position by On3.

Suiting up for basketball powerhouse Huntington Prep as a senior, Hawthorne averaged 23.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He’s ranked No. 1 in West Virginia across all major recruiting services.

Committing to Kentucky over Duke, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, the 6-8 prospect was a McDonald’s All-American nominee, a Wootten Top 150 participant, the MVP at the Dr. Pepper Classic, a standout at the Paul Bincardi Camp, a Grind Session All-Star and a Big Shots Prep Nationals High School All-Star.

Now, he’s a Wildcat, joining a championship-contending roster in Lexington for 2025-26.

Welcome home, Braydon.