On Friday, Darian DeVries and the West Virginia Mountaineers added a new name to the Class of 2025 with a local three-star prospect.
Braydon Hawthorne, a 6-foot-8 native of Huntington, Virginia, announced his commitment to the Mountaineers on social media following an updated graphic from WVU head coach Darian DeVries.
Coming out of Huntington High School in the Class of 2025, Hawthorne is listed as a three-star prospect by the 247Sports index and the nation’s 213th-ranked prospect. He also checks in as the 45th-ranked player at his position and the top-ranked player in the state of West Virginia.
Hawthorne chose the Mountaineers over offers from eight programs, including Wichita State, UMBC, Radford, Pepperdine, Old Dominion, Ohio, Mount St. Mary’s, and Florida Gulf Coast.
With his commitment, Hawthorne became the first addition to West Virginia’s 2025 recruiting class and the first high school addition under DeVries.
After accepting the head coaching job opening in Morgantown, DeVries quickly injected confidence into the Mountaineer fanbase. The former Drake coach brought in some impressive recruits through the transfer portal, notably including his son, Tucker DeVries, who was listed as the sixth-ranked player overall in the portal.
While new coaches are usually known to underwhelm in their first year as the head of the program, DeVries’ team has a chance to be special in 2024-25. After showing his capability to recruit through the transfer portal, adding a player like Braydon Hawthorne goes a long way to building recruiting relationships with high school prospects.
