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Kentucky's 2025 signees are off to great senior season starts

Zack Geogheganby:Zack Geoghegan•12/28/24•

ZGeogheganKSR

Malachi Moreno (left), Jasper Johnson (middle), and Acaden Lewis - UK Athletics
Malachi Moreno (left), Jasper Johnson (middle), and Acaden Lewis - UK Athletics

Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope has three 2025 commits signed with the Wildcats. It’s a group that ranks fifth nationally with the potential to rank even higher if one more five-star joins the class, as expected. Pope quickly squashed any speculation that he wouldn’t be able to recruit in Lexington. Bringing in a pair of homegrown talents is just the icing on the cake.

But these talented hoopers won’t join the program until the 2025-26 season. They still have their senior years of high school to finish up before making the leap to the pros. How have they all performed up to this point in the season? That’s what we’re here to talk about. Let’s go player-by-player and break down their performances less than halfway through their senior campaigns.

Thank you to today’s sponsor, our friend Andy Luedecke at MyPerfectFranchise. Andy is a huge college sports fan and franchise veteran, having owned multiple franchises and businesses. Using his expertise, he helps others find their American Dream through a very thorough consultation and evaluation process.

If you are wanting to find a way out of corporate America, wanting a side-hustle business, or a way to diversify…..reach out to Andy, as he’s got a ton of knowledge in this world and best of all, his services are 100% free to you – always! After you finish this post, you can learn more or reach Andy at [email protected].

5-star SG Jasper Johnson (No. 14)

Per game averages (9 GP): 21.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.4 SPG | 50.4 FG%, 40.4 3PT%, 80.0 FT%

Playing alongside one of Kentucky’s top 2026 targets, point guard Tay Kinney, future Wildcat Jasper Johnson has been performing like one of the best overall players at Overtime Elite. Johnson and Kinney make up arguably the best backcourt in not only OTE but in all of high school basketball. While Kinney has been outstanding to start his junior season, Johnson’s senior campaign is off to an even better start.

Johnson has scored at least 15 points in all nine games for Rod Wave Elite this season. Just look at those shooting splits: 50/40/80 is quite the line. His best scoring game came in a 28-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist showing against the YNG Dreamerz. He also has two double-doubles on the year, one with assists and the other with rebounds. He was two assists away from a triple-double on Dec. 14. And just to show off his shooting range, Johnson hit the longest shot in OTE history, a three-quarter court heave at the buzzer, last Saturday.

4-star C Malachi Moreno (No. 31)

Per game averages (11 GP): 21.6 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, 3.6 BPG | 68 FG%, 17 3PT%, 52.6 FT%

Malachi Moreno and the Great Crossing Warhawks began the season as KSR’s top team in the state of Kentucky. They lived up to the hype early on with ranked wins over Ashland Blazer, Frederick Douglass, and Covington Catholic, but a loss to St. Xavier (now the state’s top team) on Dec. 15 turned into two more losses against some of the nation’s top schools: Columbus (FL) and Westminster Academy (FL).

But Moreno and company recovered from there, winning its last two games against Bishop McNamara (MD) and Windermere Prep (FL). Great Crossing is in the Beach Ball Classic semifinals tonight against St. John’s (DC). After a tough showing in a blowout loss to the Boozer twins and Columbus, Moreno was especially impressive less than a week later in the overtime win against Bishop McNamara with 39 points (setting a school record) on a perfect 15-15 shooting. The seven-footer has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in all but one of his 11 games played this season.

4-star PG Acaden Lewis (No. 33)

Per game averages (6 GP): 13.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 2.3 SPG | 37.6 FG%, 32.6 3PT%, 52.6 FT%

It admittedly hasn’t been the best shooting start to the season for Acaden Lewis, who hasn’t actually played since Sidwell Friends lost to Bishop O’Connell, 46-45, back on Dec. 14. A reason for his absence has not been provided (whispers of a minor ankle injury have been mentioned online), but Lewis has now missed three straight games, including Saturday morning’s win over Clayton (NC).

That being said, he’s been productive when on the floor. The shooting numbers will need to come around, but he’s been huge in big games. Lewis went for 18 points and five assists en route to being named game MVP during Sidwell’s win over Paul VI Catholic (VA), a team ranked third nationally by On3. As a non-basketabll related side note, he also spent his Christmas helping cook and serve dinner at the Ronald McDonald House in Northeast Washington, DC.

Uncommitted: 5-star PF Caleb Wilson (No. 5)

Per game averages (12 GP): 19.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 3.6 BPG, 2.3 SPG | 55.3 FG%, 25.0 3PT%, 69.0 FT%

Caleb Wilson remains uncommitted, but with an early January decision expected and all signs pointing toward a Kentucky commitment, we’ll include him in this update. He has Holy Innocents (GA) off to a 10-2 start this season with another game on the schedule today against Hot Springs (AR). Wilson has been on triple-double watch multiple times this season. His best overall performance so far was a 32-point, 16-rebound, 5-assist, 5-block outing in a win over Alexander (GA) back on Dec. 7. He does nothing but stuff the stat sheet and win basketball games.

Wilson is down to a top five of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio State, North Carolina, and Central Florida. That being said, this is believed to be a battle between UK and UNC. But the Wildcats continue to control the momentum down the home stretch of his recruitment.

Learn more about Andy Luedecke and franchise ownership through these resources:
Andy’s Story
Why a Franchise
Service Based vs Brick and Mortar
Semi Absentee Ownership
The Process and How It works

e: [email protected]

Book time with Andy: Andy’s Calendar

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2025-02-01