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.
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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.
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.
Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball recruiting news.
