Pitt BB Recruiting
Four-Star Braydon Hawthorne Commits to Kentucky Over Pitt
On Tuesday night on 247 Sports, 2026 prospect Braydon Hawthorne committed to Kentucky over Duke, Pitt, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia.
The 6-foot-8, 175-pound wing is one of the top-75 players in the nation, according to 247 Sports. He is from Huntington, West Virginia, and is the No. 1 overall player from West Virginia. He had also visited Kentucky, Duke, Virginia Tech, and WVU, in addition to Pitt during his recruitment.
Pitt does not have any commitments locked up in the class of 2026.
However, the Panthers have begun to fill out their roster for this upcoming season with four transfer commits as well as several high-school commits. The most recent player to commit to the Panthers was Macari Moore out of Michigan.
Moore, a three-star prospect, was an Iowa State basketball signee and de-committed from the Cyclones back on March 14 after holding a verbal pledge with the program for a year.
“Macari is a tenacious competitor who showed winning traits throughout his high school and AAU career,” Jeff Capel said in a press release. “He plays with an attacking style on both ends of the floor and has built a strong reputation around his work ethic. He is at his best as a downhill driver getting in the lane to make plays for himself or teammates and has also shown the ability knock down shots from the perimeter. He will fit in well with the backcourt we are building at Pitt, and we are excited to see how he continues to develop in our program.”
Moore became the fourth prep prospect in the 2025 class to go along with signees Omari Witherspoon, a four-star guard out of St. John’s College Prep in Washington D.C., Kieran Mullen, a 7-foot center out of St. Thomas More School in Connecticut, and Australian wing Henry Cody Lau.
