Kentucky coach Mark Pope on Braydon Hawthorne 'His ceiling is incredible'

Recently, Braydon Hawthrone picked the Kentucky Wildcats, adding more elite depth to this 2025-26 roster. While some look at Hawthorne as a depth piece, there is a chance that he could find a role for this basketball team.

Coach Pope shared his thoughts on Hawthrone and had a lot of great things to say about the Wildcat's most recent addition. Here is what Coach Pope had to say, “Braydon Hawthorne probably has the steepest trajectory of anybody in the class of 2025. He is a great learner, a 4.0 student, and highly skilled. His ceiling is incredible, and he really wants to be here at Kentucky. I love the fact that he wants to come and compete and that he’s dying to get better every single day.”

With Kentucky being incredibly deep this season, it won't be easy for Hawthorne to find a role. It's not impossible for him to find some minutes, but it will be an uphill battle.

Hawthorne might not have that big of a role this season, but as Coach Pope said, the upside is through the roof for the 6'8 player. The West Virginia native could have gone to a few different schools and gotten more playing time as a true freshman, but he wanted to play at Kentucky and compete. This attitude will serve Hawthorne well throughout his college basketball career.

While it might not be this season, the future is very bright for the soon-to-be true freshman. Coach Pope added another player to the roster who knows what it means to be a Kentucky basketball player.