Duke Basketball Roster Moves: Surging Forward Now Visiting Blue Devils

Aiming to find another versatile forward to help fill out the fourth roster under Jon Scheyer's command, the Duke basketball staff began expressing interest in Braydon Hawthorne a few weeks ago. The Blue Devils have since visited the 6-foot-8, 190-pound four-star at his Huntington Prep School (W.Va.).

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And they welcomed Hawthorne to Durham for an official visit that began on Friday.

Now, not only does Duke appear to be leading the race for Hawthorne's services, but his stock also appears to be on the rise.

Granted, Hawthorne still sits outside the top 100 on the 247Sports 2025 Composite. But the No. 105 ranking there marks a rise of 142 spots since early December. Moreover, 247Sports alone stacks him up at No. 71 overall.

Meanwhile, over at On3, Braydon Hawthorne now checks in at No. 35 among his 2025 peers, a 13-notch climb since March to make him the third-highest undecided prospect at the moment.

Hawthorne, who was originally committed to West Virginia but backed out of his signature with the Mountaineers back in late March, has also recently visited Pitt, Kentucky, and Virginia Tech.

Duke basketball already enjoys a decorated 2025 recruiting haul featuring three five-star talents in Harvard-Westlake School (Calif.) forward Nikolas Khamenia plus the Columbus High School (Fla.) twins in forward Cameron Boozer and guard Cayden Boozer. They'll join a handful of returning players and potentially a few incoming transfer prizes.

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