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Potential Finishing Piece to Duke Basketball Class Sets Announcement

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated May 18, 2025 8:34 PM ET

With a soaring ranking and sufficiently smooth skillset to potentially contribute right away as a freshman in a major conference next season, Huntington Prep School (W.Va.) senior forward Braydon Hawthorne is now down to a final five in his recruitment, including the Duke basketball program. And the 6-foot-8, 190-pound four-star has set a date to reveal his decision.

According to a report from 247Sports' Travis Branham on Sunday evening, Hawthorne's announcement is on tap for 7 p.m. ET Tuesday. He'll name the winner live on YouTube, committing to one of the five schools he's recently visited in Duke, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Pitt, and West Virginia.

NEWS: Braydon Hawthorne, the No. 33 overall recruit in the 2025 class, will announce his college decision on Tuesday, May 20 at 7:00 PM ET live on @247Sports.

Has visited Duke, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. https://t.co/gEUt8Etzuw pic.twitter.com/TKhbe7Qale
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) May 18, 2025

Speaking of West Virginia, Braydon Hawthorne initially committed to the Mountaineers in October and put his pledge in ink during the early signing period in November. However, he formally reopened his recruitment in late March, several weeks before Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils officially entered the mix.

Duke boasts a three-deep 2025 recruiting haul, consisting entirely of five-star talents in forward Cameron Boozer, forward Nikolas Khamenia, and guard Cayden Boozer.

The Blue Devil collection ranks No. 3 in the country. As things stand, if the recruiters in Durham prevail in the Braydon Hawthorne sweepstakes, their class will move past Arizona and Houston in a return to the top spot in the rankings, where Duke sat for months until five-star forward Shelton Henderson flipped his pledge to the Miami Hurricanes back in April.

This article first appeared on Duke Blue Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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