Kentucky MCBB Lands 4-Star Malachi Moreno over John Calipari's Arkansas, UNC, More

Four-star center prospect Malachi Moreno has committed to Kentucky, he told On3's Joe Tipton.

Moreno was previously considering joining former Kentucky head coach John Calipari at Arkansas. Iowa, Indiana, Ohio State, Louisville, UNC, and Notre Dame were his other top choices.

The Georgetown, Kentucky local said he chose the Wildcats because of head coach Mark Pope's playing style, per ESPN's Paul Biancardi.

Moreno is ranked as the No. 2 center and the No. 26 overall prospect in the class of 2025, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

Moreno announced his commitment in an event at his high school, which was streamed live by 247Sports.

Moreno told Tipton that he would compare his own playing style to NBA bigs like Anthony Davis or Karl Anthony-Towns.

"I would describe my game as a stretch-five. I can pass, shoot, and dribble the ball," Moreno told Tipton.

The commitment means Moreno, who was born and raised in Kentucky, can remain near his hometown. Moreno currently plays for Great Crossing High School, which is located just a half hour's drive away from Pope's program in Lexington.

Calipari began recruiting Moreno during his final season as Kentucky, and Pope continued those efforts after taking over the job in April, Cameron Drummond reported for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Moreno's decision marks the first commitment from a class of 2025 player for Pope. Pope has also added two class of 2024 prospects in forward Trent Noah and guard Travis Perry, both of whom are also in-state locals.

Moreno's brother, Michael Moreno, recently finished out his five-year college basketball career at Eastern Kentucky. He finished the 2023-24 season as the only EKU player to record 1,500 career points and 900 rebounds.

Pope will now hope to add another high-profile recruit as Kentucky continues the program's pursuit five-star guard prospect Jasper Johnson. That might be a longshot for the Wildcats, as Johnson listed Kentucky as one of his final contenders in July but said in August he had the program ranked as a "distant third" behind Alabama and UNC.