Maxwell Hairston Throws Out the First Pitch for the Detroit Tigers

The long, arduous pre-NFL Draft process has nearly reached a crescendo for prospective prospects. Now, it’s time to enjoy what will be a life-changing week. Former Kentucky Wildcat Maxwell Hairston is doing just that in his hometown.

The two-time All-SEC cornerback wrapped up his four-year career at Kentucky with an injury-plagued 2024 season. Despite missing five games, he still showed enough on tape to become one of the most sought after cornerback prospects in the NFL Draft.

Hairston amplified his draft stock at the NFL Combine. He ran a 4.28 40-yard dash, the fastest 40 at the Combine. If he wasn’t on everybody’s radar before, he certainly was after that performance.

Ahead of Thursday’s draft, most analysts believe he will hear his name called at the end of the first round. That is why he is one of only 16 players to receive an invitation to the NFL Draft in Green Bay. If he is chosen on Thursday, Hairston will become the first-ever Kentucky defensive back selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Now that the Top 30 visits are over and the training has died down, he’s enjoying the perks that come with being a potential first-round pick. On Sunday, he got to throw out the first pitch for his hometown team, the Detroit Tigers. Unfortunately, there’s no video evidence of the throw, letting us assume that it was a strike right across the plate.

First Pitch!😼 pic.twitter.com/vmT0x8P3ez

— MadMax ¹ᵏ (@MHairston22) April 21, 2025

READ: Maxwell Hairston’s NFL Draft Profile

Hairston has the coveted speed and size of an NFL cornerback. He also showed ball skills during his two years as an SEC starter, picking off six passes, with five coming before he fractured his hand in 2023. That all looks great on paper. What Hairston believes will really set him apart from his peers are the intangibles.

“I’m the ultimate competitor. Being at corner, you gotta have a short-term memory. You gotta be able to forget about the last play, good or bad, and focus on the next play,” he recently told Kay Adams.

“My energy, when I’m on the field, I play like my head’s on fire because my film study and everything we do at practice, it gets me ready to go out there and play fast. They’re going to know that I’m ready to empty the tank every game.”

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