According to his profile on Fordham's website, Hardnett played his junior season of prep ball at Gulfport High in Mississippi. He transferred to Arlington Day School in Jacksonville, Fla., to start his senior season and averaged 13 points and five rebounds per game before transferring back to Gulfport in January. However, he was declared ineligible to compete for Gulfport his senior year, and that affected his recruitment.
At one time, Hardnett was a three-star recruit (ESPN) and had offers from Mississippi, Clemson, Penn State and UConn.
At Chipola last season, he averaged 13.2 points and 4.1 assists.