Braydon Hawthorne’s role is changing. Mark Pope is ‘curious’ to see what’s next
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Pope weighs burning Braydon Hawthorne’s redshirt as injuries shrink Kentucky’s roster.
- Hawthorne progresses in practice and could fill a role if cleared to play.
- Decision could hinge on Hawthorne’s health and other players’ availability.
Those who beat the ice and snow and everything else to get into Memorial Gymnasium a little early Tuesday night were treated to quite the tease out on the basketball court.
Braydon Hawthorne, who has not yet made his Kentucky debut — but has captured the imagination of plenty of UK fans wondering when he might — was running and jumping and shooting at a pretty good clip before the Wildcats took on Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Those who had seen this show before took notice. And by the time tipoff arrived — after Hawthorne went through the full stretching regimen alongside his teammates — there was ample speculation within the gym over whether this might be the night for his debut.
It wasn’t.
By the time the first timeout was called, it was clear from Hawthorne’s actions in the huddle — standing on the periphery, letting other, active teammates get much closer — that he would remain on the sidelines once again. And that’s exactly what happened.
The plan for Hawthorne has been to redshirt this season and retain four years of NCAA eligibility moving forward, with the idea that he would make his Kentucky debut at the start of the 2026-27 campaign with a year of preparation at the college level under his belt.
That plan was put in place before Mark Pope’s Wildcats were hit with a rash of injuries to key players, however, and the UK coach has acknowledged over the past couple of weeks that it’s possible Hawthorne could burn his redshirt and see the floor this season.
On Thursday afternoon — in the leadup to Kentucky’s game at No. 15 Arkansas on Saturday — Pope again spoke in a manner that made it clear no final decisions have been made on Hawthorne’s status for this season.
When asked last weekend about the possibility of playing Hawthorne, the Kentucky coach said the freshman was dealing with a calf issue and would have to get healthy before he could possibly see the court.
The 6-foot-8 forward was moving well a few days later in Nashville, and — when asked about his status Thursday afternoon — Pope acknowledged that he was indeed more active in pregame warmups before the loss to Vanderbilt than he had been on past game days.
“I think he’s feeling pretty good,” Pope said. “I’m curious to see what he is in practice today. I think he’ll (fully) practice today. So we’ll see how that goes.”
Hawthorne has spent much of this season as an important player on Kentucky’s scout team, often mimicking the role of one of the upcoming opponent’s top contributors during the Wildcats’ practice sessions.
The Herald-Leader was told late last week, however, that Hawthorne had been practicing more with UK’s second team — after the foot injury suffered by starting wing Kam Williams earlier that week — and Pope confirmed that he would be in that role in Thursday’s practice.
“Yeah, he’ll be off the scout team today for most of practice, because we’re going to go good on good a lot,” he said. “Him and Walker (Horn) are shoring up the second unit. So it’s going to be fun five-on-five today.”
Horn is Kentucky’s most-experienced walk-on, but — if he plays at all — he appears in actual games only toward the very end of lopsided victories. Hawthorne could potentially be a difference-maker in the Wildcats’ remaining games.
Amid buzz that he might be close to burning his redshirt year, Hawthorne’s teammates have praised his game and declared that he could provide the Cats a boost down the stretch, all while making it clear that the decision is completely his and they would not be pressuring him to give up a year of eligibility just to play a handful of games off the bench this season.
“But certainly he is an incredibly talented player that could really help us down the road,” Pope said after Kentucky’s win over Ole Miss last Saturday.
It’s clearly still possible that UK and Hawthorne could arrive at that point soon.
Pope acknowledged Thursday that sophomore forward Jayden Quaintance — a projected lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft — might not return to the court this season as he continues to deal with swelling in his surgically repaired knee.
Junior point guard Jaland Lowe has already been ruled out for the season, and Williams — a 6-8 wing — had surgery for a broken foot last week. Pope said Thursday there was an “outside, outside, outside chance” that Williams will be able to come back and play for the Cats this season.
Lowe, Quaintance and Williams all started their most recent games for Kentucky, and their injuries have dealt major blows to Pope’s gameday options.
With those three out, UK has only nine scholarship-level players available. Hawthorne would make 10, and — while he still needs to add strength to his 170-pound frame — he’s wowed practice observers this winter with his shooting ability and general feel on the court.
Kentucky’s game at Arkansas — 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN — will be the 22nd of the 2025-26 schedule. The Cats (14-7, 5-3 SEC) will have nine additional regular-season games beyond the trip to Fayetteville this weekend, plus whatever comes their way in the postseason.
If Hawthorne steps onto the court in an actual game at this point, nothing can be done to recover that redshirt year. So, everyone involved is taking the decision seriously. But it was clear once again Thursday that the door remains open for Hawthorne to play for the Cats this season.
Pope has now mentioned multiple times that Hawthorne’s own health has been a factor in weighing whether or not to burn the redshirt at this late stage. With his calf issue improving — and the Cats’ available personnel dwindling — decision time could be approaching quickly.
“Like, if we were healthy (as a team), we probably wouldn’t be in conversations,” Pope said Thursday. “So if we lose another player or two, to put five on the floor, ‘We need you, BH.’ And at that point, we have to do it. So it’s just, you know, we’re in the process. Most important is him getting healthy.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 6:30 AM.
