Kentucky Wildcats fans are going to really enjoy watching Malachi Moreno play this season. Assistant coach Cody Fueger is already praising his performance through four weeks of Fall practice.
“The guy that
kind of surprised me right from day one of summer was Malachi,” Fueger said in an interview with the Herald-Leader. “Because I’ve been watching him with AAU last year, and then you watch him going against 6-3 bigs here in Kentucky, and I’m just like, ‘OK, we’ll see.’ And then day one, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’”
Moreno — listed as 7-foot and 250 pounds for his freshman year at UK — is the state’s 2025 Mr. Basketball. He was the first recruit to commit to Mark Pope’s program following the initial wave of additions in the immediate aftermath of the Kentucky’s coach’s arrival last year, so the Wildcats’ coaching staff was plenty familiar with him by the time he got to campus in June.
Between his commitment to the Cats last August and his enrollment at UK this summer, Moreno earned McDonald’s All-American honors, solidified his status as a national recruit, and led Great Crossing High School to the Kentucky state championship.
Kentucky’s coaching staff has always been excited for Moreno’s potential. Now in practice, that potential is coming into fruition.
“He is one of those guys that — he does things on the floor, you kind of shake your head like, ‘I didn’t actually know that that’s the guy I recruited a year ago,’” Pope said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. “He’s been such an impactful freshman for us so far in training camp.”
As Fueger pointed out, the state of Kentucky is not known for boasting an overwhelming number of true bigs, so when you get a player with that kind of size and skill around the basket, that’s where you put him to work.
That panned out beautifully for Great Crossing, which rode Moreno — 21.5 points, 14.9 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game, with a 72.1% field-goal percentage as a senior — to its first state title, while he earned top individual player honors in Kentucky.
The Warhawks won all four of their Sweet 16 games by double digits. Moreno tallied a triple-double in the 11th Region championship and put 24 points and 15 rebounds in the box score in the state title game.
“His IQ — that’s probably surprised me the most,” Fueger said.
Once he works through the growing pains, Moreno could be a high-impact player on this year’s Kentucky basketball team.
