Braydon Hawthorne has a very bright future ahead for the Kentucky Wildcats

Mark Pope made a last-minute addition to the 2025-26 roster as he brought in four-star wing Braydon Hawthorne. In 247Sports' rankings of the 2025 class, Hawthorne is ranked as the 33rd best player in the class, and Coach Pope brought him in to be a depth piece.

When taking a look at Hawthorne's game, it is quite clear that once he is given the time to develop into his body and put on some more muscle, he is going to be a star. Right now, Hawthorne stands 6'8 175 pounds, and he has a lot of room to grow.

It is clear that Hawthorne could grow a few inches taller, and once he grows taller and puts on some muscle, he has a shot to be an absolutely electric college basketball player.

Knowing that Hawthorne will grow into his body with the elite skillset he has as a player, it is scary to think just how good he can be down the road. A good comparison would be Adou Thiero. When Thiero got to Kentucky, he clearly had some muscle to put on, and he did that and just turned himself into an NBA player.

Hawthorne hasn't been in Lexington long, but it sounds like he is doing some good things early into summer practice. This season, Big Blue Nation might not hear the name Hawthorne all that much, but he will develop a lot this season and be a star for the Wildcats in the future.

Coach Pope is brilliant to add some of these developmental pieces to mold into future stars.