Tennessee track and field has landed a commit whose father is known to make fans across the world laugh.
Hendrix Hart, the son of comedian Kevin Hart, committed to run track at Tennessee, which both Vols track and the athlete’s father announced on social media earlier this week.
“We’re building a great program here, and we think he’ll contribute to that tremendously,” Tennessee coach Duane Ross told ESPN on the phone. “This is a humble young man that’s just excited to get his path going, wants to be good and create his own thing.”
When Kevin posted the announcement on social media, congratulations poured into the comment section from Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James — who wrote “Yessir nephew,” — former Tennessee sprint stars Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman, rappers Nelly and Jadakiss, and more.
Ross said that Tennessee didn’t recruit Hendrix Hart because of who his father is but rather because of his character, talent and willingness to improve.
“What did it for me was this is just a good young man. He shook my hand and he told me how good he wanted to be, how he was ready to work,” Ross said. “The first thing I told him was ‘Hey, you come here, you’re gonna have to earn it,’ and he said ‘Coach, I want to earn it.’
“He told me ‘This is what I want to do. I want to be one of the best in the world, and I think training with you guys, that’s the key.’ Those things right there are important to me — athletes who are humble and grateful and just want to get in here and earn their way.”
Ross said that, before Hendrix committed, he and his family had the Hart family over for a dinner where he got to not only know Hendrix as more than an athlete but also learned a lot about what he and Kevin had in common.
“One of the things we had in common is that we both have sons and we were extremely proud of them but we want them to get out there and earn their own way,” Ross said. “We talked in detail about how he wanted his son to make his own way for himself, and we really bonded over that. … He was cracking jokes here and there, but we talked sons, which was great.”
Hendrix Hart, who is a senior at Sierra Canyon, clocked a 10.68-second personal best in the 100-meter dash and 21.35 seconds in the 200-meter dash during the 2025 outdoor season, according to Athletic.net.
