Four-star small forward, Braydon Hawthorne requested to be released from his National Letter of Intent with West Virginia two weeks ago when Darian DeVries left to take the head coaching job at Indiana. Now Hawthorne will reopen his recruitment, his father told 247Sports and DeVries is in the running to land the West Virginia native once more, this time as a Hoosier.
The 6-foot-8, 175-pound small forward out of Huntington (WV) Prep is currently the 71st overall prospect in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports. He was the highest rated prospect to commit to West Virginia.
NEWS: Braydon Hawthorne, the No. 71 overall recruit in the 2025 class, has requested his release from West Virginia & is reopening his recruitment, his father tells @247Sports.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) March 21, 2025
He is the biggest riser this season & he will remain open to playing for the Mountaineers. || Story:… pic.twitter.com/aowtstF3qa
According to Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports, Arizona State, Indiana, Kansas State, Ohio, Marquette, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Virginia,Kentucky, Pepperdine, Florida Gulf Coast, Virginia Tech, amongst many others
🚨 Braydon Hawthorne’s recruitment is heating up after his decommitment from West Virginia 🔥 The top-50 2025 prospect now has blue bloods and top programs vying for his commitment.
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) April 1, 2025
👉[READ] https://t.co/wRnSztGBh9 pic.twitter.com/EhTCBL6C6B
When signing Hawthorne back on November 14th of 2024 Darian DeVries had this to say about the elite prospect.
"We are thrilled to welcome Braydon to our Mountaineer family," DeVries said. "Braydon has tremendous upside and positional size at 6-foot-9 on the wing. His skill, shooting and length as well as being a 4.0 student and West Virginia native are things we valued in his recruitment. We are excited to help Braydon develop here on and off the court."
The only signee from the Indiana men’s basketball class of 2025 is four-star recruit Trent Sisley out of Montverde Academy (FL).