After a dominant season with the Great Crossing Warhawks, Malachi Moreno has his sights set on the bright lights of Kentucky basketball.
The Warhawks’ star had quite the senior campaign, averaging 21.8 points, 14.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.5 blocks per game. He helped lead the Warhawks to a 35-4 record and their first state championship.
In the championship, they took down the Bowling Green Purples 71-61. Moreno ended the game with 24 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Prior to the state title, Moreno won the Kentucky Mr. Basketball award, a massive achievement to put the icing on the cake of a great senior year.
The five-star recruit finds himself regarded as the No. 27 prospect in the Class of 2025 according to 247Sports. Like most highly regarded recruits, Moreno took part in the McDonald’s All-American Boys Game.
In the practices leading up to the game, Moreno was a standout and named the second-best performer on one of the days. He went on to play 16 minutes in the All-American Game but still finished with nine points, five rebounds and two blocks.
When Moreno officially announced his commitment to Kentucky last August, he talked about the moment when he felt Lexington was the place for him during a press conference after his commitment.
“Coach Pope brought me and my brother to sit down in the middle of the court, I just felt it, it was just a feeling, god put me on this path, so I chose to follow it,” Moreno said.
Moreno talked about what Coach Pope is like in private and what he’s meant to him during his public commitment to the Wildcats.
“He (Pope) just sits down and talks with you. Some of the time, it’s not even about basketball; it’s just about life, like he’ll just come down and talk to you,” Moreno said. “He’s told me stories about his time at Kentucky; he’s not just a coach, but he’s also a father figure to all his players.”
Moreno talked with Kentucky Sports Radio about the advice Pope has given him as he prepares for this upcoming season.
“Kind of just to play with confidence, kind of the way Amari Williams played,” Moreno told KSR. “He puts a lot of trust in his five men, and he told me he has a lot of trust in me. He’s excited for me to get on campus and just to play with confidence, just to play for the name on the front and prosper for the name on the back.”
Williams was a focal point of the 2024-25 Wildcats and greatly improved after transferring from Drexel last offseason.
Moreno shared his thoughts about what he thought of Pope as a coach and how he works directly with forwards and centers during his public commitment to UK. He also went into detail about what Pope wants to see out of him as a player.
“I took a lot of pride in that. Knowing that he develops his big men and he was a big man at Kentucky, so he knows what it takes,” Moreno said.
As next year’s roster takes shape, Moreno will be joining a formidable frontcourt alongside returning big man Brandon Garrison, Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance, Miami (OH) transfer Reece Potter and European prospect Andrija Jelavic.
Pope has been filling out the rest of next year’s roster, adding the likes of Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen, Alabama transfer Mouhamed Dioubate, Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe and Tulane transfer Kam Williams. They will help to fill the void after what was left of the senior departures this season.
The big news of the summer for the Cats came when star guard Otega Oweh announced he was withdrawing his name from the 2025 NBA Draft and returning to UK. With the return of Oweh, the Cats are expected to be one of the top teams in the SEC with the chance to potentially make a deep run in March.
Moreno officially signed with Kentucky on August 16, 2024, joining a recruiting class coming to UK alongside Braydon Harthorne and Jasper Johnson. He talked about teaming up with fellow Kentucky native Johnson during media day at the McDonald’s All-American Game.
“Being able to team up with Jasper, I mean, we’ve played against each other our entire lives, and now we kind of get to put on the same jersey and we get to rock out together, so it means a lot.”
Whatever happens in this upcoming chapter of Kentucky basketball, there’s no doubt Moreno will be helping to lead the charge in the 2025-26 season.