You're never going to bat a thousand on the recruiting trail in college hoops, or any sport for that matter. But when there are so few in-state players who are talented enough to play at the Division I level, you want to keep every one of them home.

did everything it could to regain the commitment of four-star forward and Beckley, WV native Braydon Hawthorne. They put together a very strong NIL package and a chance to see the floor right away as a true freshman. Instead, he turned down that opportunity to play for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats, where he'll likely take a backseat at the start of his career.

It's hard to blame Hawthorne, Ross Hodge, or anyone at WVU for it not working out. If you're looking for someone to put the blame on, it's Darian DeVries.

Hawthorne was committed to West Virginia and had already signed to play in Morgantown. DeVries' decision to use WVU as a stepping stone to Indiana led to this outcome. If he was serious about building something special in Morgantown, then Hawthorne would have been a Mountaineer and could have possibly gone down as one of the best players in program history by the time it was all said and done.

But at the end of the day, many fans are asking why an in-state kid doesn't want to stay home, regardless of the coach. The WVU brand is still powerful, and the majority of high school athletes in the state would do anything to be a Mountaineer; that part hasn't changed. But what has is the ability to watch and follow other programs closely.

15-20 years ago, social media wasn't nearly as big as it is now, and you only got a handful of games on TV. Now, if you have ESPN+, you can watch just about every college basketball game in the country. As kids grow up, some are naturally drawn to the big brands of Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, and so on. They're on national TV all the time, have a long history of pumping guys into the NBA, and have a whole other level of brand power.

Just because a kid is from the state doesn't mean he's going to land in Morgantown. That's no longer a guarantee.

You have to earn it by having success and showing a clear path to the next level. Hodge just arrived a couple of months ago and has only been a Division I coach for two years, which can make it a tough sell. Meanwhile, Pope has won at this level for over a decade between his stops at Utah Valley, BYU, and now Kentucky.

Also, with the transfer portal, talented in-state prospects may be more willing to take their shot with a blue blood first, and if things don't pan out, they can portal home. West Virginia made a strong push for Hawthorne, and that relationship could end up coming back to help them down the road if things don't work out in Lexington.

It's unfortunate for Hodge and the Mountaineers, but there's still plenty of reasons to be excited about the roster he and his staff have put together for the 2025-26 season.

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