A little while back On3.com reporters, Joe Tipton and Jamie Shaw, predicted Kentucky to land the talented in-state big man. However, Mark Pope and company are currently getting some more love by the national media in the Malachi Moreno sweepstakes.

Just yesterday, 247 Sports recruiting analyst Travis Branham logged his crystal ball pick in favor for Kentucky to land him. Moreno is a 4-star recruit who is currently in his senior season at Great Crossing High School in Georgetown, Kentucky.

This would be Mark Pope’s biggest commitment of his coaching career if he can land the seven-foot big man. Back in 2022 when Pope was at BYU, his highest commitment was from Collin Chandler. Chandler at the time was the thirty-third best overall player in the 2022 class, and he secured a pledge to come to Utah for his college career before following Pope to Lexington.

Malachi Moreno is on the verge of being a top-25 recruit in the 2025 class. He is also the second-best rated center in 2025 class, as well as, the number one overall recruit in the state of Kentucky.

The in-state talent is tentatively set to take an official visit to Kentucky on the weekend of October 11th. This is potentially when Big Blue Madness is set to take place this season. Moreno is also scheduled to visit Ohio State, North Carolina, Indiana, and Arkansas before then. However, the October 11th trip to Kentucky will be his final official visit as of right now, likely how the staff prefers it to be.