Braydon Hawthorne wanted to be part of UK culture

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Braydon Hawthorne knows he needs to add weight and get stronger and believes once he can get to maybe 205 pounds he will be physically able to compete not only with his talented teammates at Kentucky but also UK opponents.

“I am going to compete regardless of what I weigh. My goal this summer is to work and put on pounds,” the 6-foot-7 UK freshman said. “I had a big leap in my game over a little amount of time last season. This summer I want to work as hard as I can just like I did last summer and just stay in love with the process.”

Hawthorne was a West Virginia commit who saw his game blossom during his senior season at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep. He decommitted when West Virginia coach Darian DeVries took the head job at Indiana. Kentucky assistant coach Jason Hart had reached out to Hawthorne before he originally committed to West Virginia and the UK staff wasted no time contacting him again when he reopened his recruitment.

Kentucky already had 13 players on the roster when Hawthorne, who lives in Beckley, W.Va., decided he wanted to play for Pope.

“I just wanted to be part of the Kentucky culture. I feel like if I work hard everything will take care of itself,” Hawthorne said. “I was the final piece of the roster but they are telling me I am one of the most talented players on the squad on paper because of my versatility. I feel being able to do everything at my size is my best attribute.”

Hawthorne had no trouble quickly picking out Pope’s best attribute.

“His personality and how much of a people person he is,” Hawthorne said about Pope’s best qualities. “He’s still the same way now as when he was recruiting me. I talk to him a lot. He was not relentless when he recruited me but we developed a great relationship.

“He said he really liked my potential. I really couldn’t tell you why but they watched me my junior year and against my senior year. I guess my versatility and length impressed them. I have that 7-foot-3 wingspan. Growing up I always had long arms but I was not the tallest kid. I grew about two inches each year in high school.”

Growing up in Beckley, W.Va., Hawthorne played soccer, football and baseball along with basketball. He played running back and quarterback mainly in football and some receiver. He was a second baseman in baseball.

“Basketball was always my main sport. I did those other sports to keep myself busy,” the UK freshman said.

Now he doesn’t do a lot outside basketball but knows when he does venture out in Lexington that BBN will know who he is.

“The fans here are great. I embrace things like that. I don’t let little stuff bother me and if people recognize me and want to talk or get an autograph or picture, that will be okay with me,” he said.

Hawthorne’s father brought him and his younger brother Zyon, a high school senior with Division I offers, to the UK Father-Son Camp hosted by then UK coach John Calipari when they were younger. They came two years in a row and that turned Braydon Hawthorne into a UK fan.

He didn’t have one particular UK player that specifically turned him into a UK fan but he did like former All-American Willie Cauley-Stein, the 2015 national defensive player of the year. He admitted getting to meet Cauley-Stein would be “something special” for him.

“I just remember talking to Willie and not really a whole lot more about coming to the camps but after that I grew up loving watching Kentucky play,” Hawthorne said.

Cauley-Stein will be playing for LaFamilia, Kentucky’s alumni team competing in The Basketball Tournament (TBA), in July. He’s already reached out to Hawthorne about meeting him this summer.

“Everything here is going to be a new experience but a great experience,” Hawthorne said. “I almost wish the season was starting now.”