Braydon Hawthorne commits to Kentucky basketball 2025 recruiting class over Duke, others

LEXINGTON — After a better-than-expected 2024-25 season in Year 1 leading the Kentucky basketball program, coach Mark Pope notched another victory Tuesday. Only this time, it was on the recruiting trail, not the court.

The Wildcats' latest recruiting-world win happened Tuesday, as four-star 2025 forward Braydon Hawthorne committed to Pope's program. Hawthorne picked UK over his four other finalists: fellow blue-blood Duke, ACC schools Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech and Big 12 representative West Virginia.

Hawthorne joins a pair of Kentuckians — guard Jasper Johnson and center Malachi Moreno — along with international forward Andrija Jelavic as commitments for the Wildcats' 2025 class.

This story will be updated.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball recruiting: Braydon Hawthorne commits to Mark Pope