KU Scholar Athlete of the Month: Haiden Hunt
Two-Sport Star Is Tough Act to Follow
- School: Frederick Douglass High
- GRADE: 12
- Sport: Football, baseball
- Academics: Haiden has a 4.2 weighted GPA at the Carter G. Woodson Academy at Douglass High
- Parents:Alicia & Harold
As a standout member of the first class that will graduate from the Carter G. Woodson Academy housed at Frederick Douglass High, Haiden Hunt will leave a legacy that is tough to match.
Although he weighs only 150 pounds, Haiden, 17, is an All-City baseball and football player. It helps that he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds.
Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh recognized him as the fastest man at his football camp.
As a wide receiver and kick returner last year, Haiden led the Broncos to a 10-3 record in the school’s first season, beating all the other City public schools along the way.
Against Henry Clay, the Broncos trailed with 1:06 to play and faced a fourth down at the Henry Clay 40.
Haiden snagged a pass, deftly eluded two defenders and lunged into the end zone for the winning score.
He’s been a varsity baseball starter since eighth grade (at his home school, Bryan Station High, until last year). His speed makes him a terror on the base paths.
He has lofty goals in each sport for his senior year. Nothing short of State titles in both sports will appease him. In football, his goals are 5 TDs by kick return and 10 by receiving.
In baseball, he hopes to lead the City in stolen bases and on-base percentage.
College coaches are recruiting him in both sports, and Haiden has been groomed for college since joining the BMW (Black Males Working) academy, a mentoring and additional study program started by Roszalyn Akins to help African-American boys improve their grades and test scores.
The program worked so well, Stu Silberman, Fayette County Schools superintendent at the time, incorporated the program into FCPS as the Carter G. Woodson Academy.
Haiden, who has a 4.2 weighted GPA, was a member of the first class as a sixth grader.
Each year only 25 or so boys are accepted into the sixth grade of the program, which follows the well principles: Well Dressed, Well Read, Well Spoken, Well Traveled and Well Prepared.
Boys wear blazers and ties, and recite the school creed every morning.
As for Well Traveled, during spring break of his freshman year, Haiden and some classmates visited Dubai.
“Everything was bigger and better there,” he said. “They had a ski resort in a mall in the middle of the desert. They have low crime, gas and college are free, and the food was amazing. I could honestly live there.”
But there is much to accomplish stateside first. And the foundation was set at the Carter G. Woodson Academy.
“It was very hard at first,” Haiden said. “But it got easier and I realized that it could really benefit me in a positive way if I stick with it.”