The Kentucky Wildcats and their fans needed some good news after losing transfer portal star Donnie Freeman to St. John's. They got some on Tuesday. Redshirt freshman Braydon Hawthorne announced that he was signed up for the 2026-27 season with Kentucky.
Hawthorne is a 6'8", 190 lb forward with a diverse skill set. He was a top 40 player in the 2025 recruiting class who originally committed to West Virginia, but ended up choosing Kentucky over offers from multiple programs, including the Duke Blue Devils. He was a nice win for coach Mark Pope last year.
It was ultimately decided that he would redshirt last season, though injuries nearly forced Pope to bring him out of it early. After the season, Hawthorne expressed a desire to return to Lexington, but there are no sure things in the current college basketball climate.
Now, that worry can be put to bed. Hawthorne announced that he has signed on for next season, and that's definitely good news. He's a talented player who Pope has compared to Wildcats great Tayshaun Prince. With the struggles to recruit, they'll need Hawthorne to produce, and he has to potential to be very good.
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky basketball gets Braydon Hawthorne back for next season