Kentucky continues to trend as favorite to land 4-star C Malachi Moreno

Mark Pope is inching closer to landing his first 2025 high school commitment.

Four-star center Malachi Moreno — who hails from Georgetown, KY, and plays for Great Crossing — has been a clear priority target for Pope once he hit the recruiting trail back in the spring. Moreno has since scheduled an official visit to UK for October where he’ll check out Big Blue Madness. The 7-footer also made multiple unofficial visits to campus in recent months.

All signs have pointed to Kentucky as the favorite to lock him up.

On Monday afternoon, we were given another reason to believe that Moreno would eventually wind up in Lexington. 247Sports Basketball Analyst Travis Branham logged a pick in favor of Moreno choosing the Wildcats with a confidence level of 7. Back in March, I also logged a pick for Kentucky to land Moreno — I do not plan on changing it at this time.

“Coach Pope just tells me that there is no better place for me,” Moreno recently told On3’s Jamie Shaw. “He is a big man, and his game is like mine, so he knows how to coach me. He tells me that he just wants to put me in the league, but also that he wants me to follow through with my faith because the ball will stop bouncing at one point. Coach Pope says he loves passing big men and that is one of my strengths. Being able to facilitate the floor and make the right reads.”

Moreno is officially down to a group of eight finalists: Notre Dame, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio State, North Carolina, Iowa, and Louisville. Along with UK, he has official visits scheduled this fall for Ohio State, North Carolina, Indiana, and Arkansas. But going into the home stretch of his recruitment (a decision could come before the start of the 2024-25 high school season), the Wildcats have the momentum.

According to the On3 Industry Ranking, Moreno is ranked No. 25 overall in the class of 2025 and the top overall center.

It’s been a productive summer for Moreno, who helped lead Indiana Elite to the adidas 3SSB Palmetto Road Championship game in July and was one of the event’s top performers. Across 17 games played, he averaged 13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, and 1.9 assists in 24.1 minutes per outing while shooting 63.9 percent from the floor. Moreno also shined at the UA Next Elite 24 in New York last week with 14 points, five rebounds, and three blocks.