Kentucky Wildcats Basketball

Kentucky Basketball freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne has confirmed that he plans to return to Lexington next season after spending the current year developing as a redshirt.

During an interview with Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader, Hawthorne was asked if he expected to be back with the Wildcats next year. The freshman responded confidently.

Hawthorne, who was ranked among the top 35 players nationally in the 2025 recruiting class according to 247Sports, arrived at Kentucky after a busy recruitment that saw several high-profile programs pursue the forward.

Originally committed to West Virginia, Hawthorne backed off that pledge last March. He said that when he reopened his recruitment, Kentucky quickly reached out and began recruiting him heavily.

After decommitting from the Mountaineers, Hawthorne took several official visits during the spring, traveling to Virginia Tech, Pitt, Duke, Kentucky, and making another visit back to West Virginia. By May, those five schools remained in contention before Hawthorne ultimately signed with the Wildcats just days later.

Although he did not play this season, Hawthorne said the year of learning and development will give him a significant advantage moving forward.

“I feel like it’s gonna be great,” Hawthorne tells Roberts of the Herald-Leader. “Because I feel like I’ll be a step ahead of everybody next year, knowing the system and everything else. As soon as we get back on campus. I feel like that puts me in a great spot, just knowing everything already.”

Hawthorne is expected to enter next season as a redshirt freshman with added strength, experience in the system, and a chance to compete for playing time in Kentucky’s frontcourt.