Braydon Hawthorne has plans to win a national championship at Kentucky

Just like head coach Mark Pope, new Kentucky men’s basketball commit Braydon Hawthorne understands the assignment: he’s coming to Lexington to hang banners.

Growing up in West Virginia as a Kentucky fan, Hawthorne is about to live out his dream in college. Initially committed to the hometown Mountainteers, a coaching change reopened his recruitment in March. Pope, along with assistant coach Jason Hart, quickly engaged with the 6-foot-8 wing to measure his interest. A couple of months later, Kentucky won out over the likes of Duke, Virginia Tech, Pitt, and WVU.

Once ranked outside of the top 100 national player rankings, he’s now considered a four-star prospect and top 40 recruit in the nation. On3 ranks him 35th overall in the class of 2025 rankings.

“It’s a blessing, to be honest with you,” Hawthorne said of his recent rise on the Wired to the Game podcast. “From having nothing and putting my head down and working. At first it was unbelievable, but I’m thinking like ‘I earned this, bro.’ I played great this year, I worked hard, nothing is given, so if you work hard, you can go get it.”

Pope was a hugely important piece in Kentucky landing Hawthorne. Pope, who already knew about Hawthorne before he committed to West Virginia, even went and saw him play back in February. Pope made the short trip to Versailles, KY to watch future Wildcat commit Jasper Johnson and Overtime Elite’s RWE take on Hawthorne and Huntington Prep (WV) at Woodford County High School.

“Coach Pope was the only head coach out of my top (schools) that was actually watching me,” Hawthorne said of that game.

It’s one he remembers vividly too, a 71-70 defeat that came down to the final seconds. He even called it the craziest game he’s ever experienced while playing at Huntington Prep. Over 2,000 people filled Woodford County’s brand-new gym, mainly to watch Johnson, but Hawthorne recalls performing quite well on his own.

Little did he know, Kentucky fans would soon learn to know his name. They can thank Pope for pulling it off.

“Coach Pope, he’s such a people person,” Hawtorne said. “You can call him and talk to him about anything. Me and him been on the phone, FaceTime, calls, texts, talking about anything. That means a lot, too. When you’re making a tough decision like that, you gotta look at everything, off the court, things like that, what kind of people they are. And it was very business-oriented too.”

The first order of business? Hanging a ninth title banner in Rupp Arena.

“We’re going to win that national championship,” he said. “That’s the team goal, and to get closer to my teammates. Individual (goal) is just to grow every day as a player and a person, that’s really important to me.”

If you want to hear even more from Hawthorne’s interview with Wired to the Game, dive into the full episode below. He talks about dunking at 16 years old, players he hears himself being compared to, his pregame routines, and much more.