Tennessee Track & Field has received a commit whose father is known for making fans around the world laugh.
Hendrix Hart, son of comedian Kevin Hart, has committed to run track at Tennessee, which was announced by both Vols track and the athlete’s father on social media earlier this week.
“We’re building a great program here and we think he’ll be a tremendous contribution to it,” Tennessee coach Duane Ross told ESPN by phone. “This is a humble young man who is excited to follow his own path, wants to be good and make his own thing.”
When Kevin posted the announcement on social media, congratulations flooded the comments section 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 Tennessee recruited Hendrix Hart not because of his father, but because of his character, talent and desire to improve.
Ross said, “What it did to me was just this is a good young man. He shook my hand and he told me how good he wanted to be, how he was ready to work.” “The first thing I said to him was ‘Hey, you come here, you’ve got 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 is the key.’ Those things are important to me – athletes who are humble and grateful and just want to come here and earn their way.”
Ross said that, before Hendricks committed, he and his family invited the Hart family over for dinner, where he not only got a chance to get to know Hendricks as more than just an athlete, but also learned what he and Kevin had in common.
“One thing we have in common is that we both have sons and we’re very proud of them, but we want them to go out and earn their own way,” Ross said. “We talked at length about how he wanted his son to make his own path for himself, and we really connected. … He was cracking jokes here and there, but we talked about sons, which was great.”
Hendricks Hart, a senior at Sierra Canyon, ran personal bests of 10.68 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.35 seconds in the 200 meters during the 2025 outdoor season. athletic.net.
