Tag: Malachi Moreno

Blue blood program listed as a team that must land this UNC basketball recruiting target

Malachi Moreno is a big UNC basketball recruiting target and the Kentucky Wildcats were named as the team that must have him.

North Carolina is among the programs that is after four-star center Malachi Moreno in the 2025 recruiting class. The Kentucky native is becoming a priority for Hubert Davis and his staff after they offered him weeks ago.

But North Carolina will have to battle out some top programs to land him, including the in-state Wildcats.

Kentucky is a legit contender in the recruitment for Moreno and might be the team to beat early on despite making a coaching change losing John Calipari and hiring Mark Pope. One recruiting analyst believes that Kentucky ‘must land’ Moreno in the recruiting process as well.

Here is what Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy had to say when asked which uncommitted prospect is a ‘must land’ for a program:

At this point, it feels as though Kentucky needs to land Malachi Moreno, not so much because it absolutely needs him for roster construction purposes (he would certainly help), but because of what landing an in-demand, in-state star would say about the Mark Pope era. Part of hiring a beloved figure with strong ties to the state and the program is scoring points locally, so Pope landing Moreno feels like a good way to further ignite a fan base that is already operating with a heavy dose of cautious optimism. Losing Moreno to Indiana, Tennessee, Michigan or – God forbid – Arkansas would have the sting, especially if on-court growing pains strike in year one of Pope’s UK tenure.

Now, there is no mention of North Carolina in that answer as Cassidy points to Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, and Michigan as the programs that Kentucky could lose him to. The Tar Heels do need to land a center for future classes and the 6-foot-11 Moreno is a perfect fit for Davis.

It will be interesting to see how involved UNC gets with Moreno moving forward.

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Seven-foot center has Ohio State in list of final eight schools

Buckeyes hoping for some help in the paint #GoBucks

Jake Diebler and the Ohio State basketball team got some good news recently when one of the top centers in the country put the Buckeyes on his trimmed list.

Malachi Moreno is a seven-footer with great length and athletic fluidity who can score and protect the rim. He is rated as the No. 2 overall center according to 247Sports composite rankings. While he has taken an unofficial visit to Ohio State, it sounds like he is in no hurry to make a commitment having no other official visits currently scheduled.

Other schools that made the shortlist include Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, and Notre Dame.

Take a look at some of the big man’s highlights below.

It’s still early, but this would be a huge catch for Diebler and the Buckeyes. If there is one place Ohio State basketball has lacked consistency it’s at the center position.

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Kentucky makes final eight list for 2025 recruit Malachi Moreno

Malachi Moreno puts Kentucky basketball in his final eight schools.

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope has 2025 recruit Malachi Moreno high on his list of important players, and had him in for a visit recently. On Tuesday, Moreno narrowed his list of potential schools down to eight, and the Wildcats made the cut.

Moreno is a top 30 player in his class, and is rated four stars by 247sports. He’s their number 3 center in the class, and the top rated player in the state of Kentucky.

Related: Kentucky target Nate Ament has huge performance

Joining Kentucky in Moreno’s final eight are Ohio State, North Carolina, Louisville, Indiana, Iowa, Notre Dame, and Arkansas. Multiple SEC teams were cut from his list, including Tennessee, LSU, and Alabama.

Coach Pope has made retaining in-state talent a priority, and landed Kentucky’s top two players this season. He’s hard at work on landing Moreno for next year as well. The 7’1″ homegrown star would be a big get for Pope, and fans would be excited to have him.

Notre Dame basketball makes top 8 for one of nation’s best 2025 centers

The Irish are still in the mix for the elite center

Notre Dame men’s basketball is still without a 2025 commitment, but head coach Micah Shrewsberry is hard at work to make that change in the near future.

One of his biggest targets, literally and figuratively is 2025 Kentucky center [autotag]Malachi Moreno[/autotag]. The 6-foot, 11-inch and 230-pound star trimmed his list down to eight schools on Monday: Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio State, North Carolina, Iowa and Louisville.

Moreno is ranked as the nation’s No. 2 center and 28th overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He took an unofficial visit to South Bend last year in September, and for the Irish to really be in the mix, they need for him to get back on campus.

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Recruit Malachi Moreno is visiting Kentucky basketball on Thursday

Class of 2025 center Malachi Moreno is visiting Kentucky basketball on Thursday.

New Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope has spent the past few weeks working hard on the 2025 recruiting class. He made a series of scholarship offers last week, and now has spent time visiting with a couple of important recruits. First Jasper Johnson was in for a visit, and now Malachi Moreno is on an unofficial visit.

Moreno is an in-state player, ranked as the top player in Kentucky by 247sports. He’s rated four stars and is their 26th ranked player overall. The 6’11” star is their number three center as well.

Related: Four Wildcats selected in new ESPN mock draft

Pope has said he wants to keep the top in-state players in Kentucky, and Moreno is a top target. He was being recruited by the Wildcats even before Pope took over the program, and is still a big focus.

Big Blue Nation is excited to see what Mark Pope’s first recruiting class at Kentucky is going to look like. Fans have high expectations, and landing Moreno would be an excellent start towards meeting them.

Four-star center Malachi Moreno says he will visit Kentucky basketball

Top 30 2025 recruit Malachi Moreno will visit Kentucky basketball this summer.

Center Malachi Moreno is one of several players being recruited by Kentucky basketball both before and after the coaching change. The in-state product unofficially visited Lexington in February, but Mark Pope wasn’t the coach then.

As the new coaching staff began work on the 2025 class, they prioritized recruits from within Kentucky. They landed the top two in the 2024 class, and would love to lock down Moreno, who is the top in-state player next year.

Related: Looking back at the 1995-96 Kentucky basketball season

Moreno is a top 30 player according to 247sports. He’s 6’11, 210 lbs and is the third best center in his class. He has offers from a lot of the top programs, including Kentucky’s in-state rival, Louisville.

This summer, Moreno is planning to take some visits to schools he’s considering. Kentucky is on that list. Pope will work hard on keeping the talented center in the state, and add an elite player to his first recruiting class at the same time.

LSU offers 2025 four-star center from Kentucky

LSU’s basketball staff went to Kentucky to check out one of the best players in the 2025 recruiting class.

LSU basketball’s recruiting staff has taken a trip deep into the heart of blue-chip basketball country as they checked out one of the best centers in the 2025 recruiting class.

Malachi Moreno is a 6-foot-11, 200-pound, four-star center from Georgetown, Kentucky, where he plays for Great Crossing High School. Great Crossing finished last season 28-6 with a loss to Lexington Catholic in the playoffs.

There are currently no Crystal Ball projections for Moreno at this time but Indiana is a 23% favorite to land him per On3.

Moreno does not have a long highlight film. He just has some clips from random games. From what I can see he does a great job getting rebounds and he can score easily even when getting double-teamed.

Alabama MBB offers 2025 center Malachi Moreno

The Alabama coaching staff extended an offer to 2025 center Malachi Moreno on Thursday night. Moreno is ranked as a four-star by 247Sports.

Class of 2025 center Malachi Moreno received an offer from Alabama on Thursday. Moreno is one of the top center prospects in the country for the 2025 recruiting cycle.

He is listed at 6-foot-11 and 200 pounds. His size gives him the option to play two positions at the collegiate level. Those two positions are power forward and center.

At Alabama, head coach Nate Oats welcomes versatility in the Crimson Tide’s frontcourt. In 2023, Alabama will have a versatile group consisting of Mohamed Wague, Jarin Stevenson, Nick Pringle, and Mouhamed Dioubate. Each of the players listed can play the four or five positions when their number is called upon. Moreno will be used in a similar role if he decides to commit to Alabama in the future.

During his sophomore season at Great Crossing High School, Moreno averaged 14.9 points, 11.4 rebounds per game, and 4.8 blocks per game.

Roll Tide Wire breaks down Malachi Moreno’s recruiting profile.