Malachi Moreno’s freshman season is already one of the best in UK history
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball center Malachi Moreno is putting together an impressive freshman season.
- Moreno is averaging 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as UK’s starting center.
- Moreno was a five-star recruit out of Georgetown’s Great Crossing High School.
A topsy-turvy Kentucky men’s basketball season has led many in Big Blue Nation to begin looking ahead to the 2026-27 campaign.
As UK fans search for optimism in this regard, the standout play of a 7-foot freshman looms large.
Malachi Moreno’s maiden college season has been impressive. A product of Georgetown’s Great Crossing High School, Moreno arrived at UK with plenty of local fanfare after earning Kentucky Mr. Basketball honors in 2025 while guiding Great Crossing to its first Sweet 16 state championship.
The five-star prospect — who was ranked as the No. 25 national recruit in the 2025 class, per the 247Sports Composite — established himself as the starting center for Mark Pope’s team in late November.
Entering Saturday night’s road contest at Auburn, Moreno is averaging 8.4 points, a team-best 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 blocks per game for the Wildcats.
Compared to his more-experienced teammates, these statistics rate well. Moreno’s 58.8% field-goal shooting leads UK. Through 26 games, no Wildcat has grabbed more rebounds (168) than Moreno, who also leads Kentucky in blocks (44).
His passing chops have also merited praise, with Moreno posting a respectable 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“I think early on I struggled a lot, just being able to handle physicality and being able to play at the speed of the game,” Moreno said. “But, I think as the season’s gone on I’ve gotten more comfortable in my role, and I’m starting to understand what I need to do for this team to be successful.”
In the rich history of Kentucky hoops, only a handful of freshmen have matched what Moreno has already accomplished.
According to the UK basketball database Big Blue History, Moreno already ranks favorably compared to other UK freshmen in a number of categories. With games still to play, Moreno ranks 25th in rebounds (168), 14th in field-goal percentage (58.8%) and 13th in blocks (44) on the UK freshmen single-season leaderboard.
The numbers are even more impressive when you narrow the scope to UK freshmen who are from Kentucky.
Among freshman Kentucky natives, Moreno currently ranks eighth in points scored (219), second in field goal percentage, first in blocked shots and first in rebounds. That’s right. No freshman from Kentucky has ever blocked more shots or grabbed more rebounds in their first college season with the Wildcats than Moreno.
And he still has room to climb in the points scored category.
If Moreno plays in nine more games for Kentucky this season — the Cats’ five remaining conference games and a reasonable estimate of four between the SEC and NCAA tournaments —and maintains his current average of 8.4 points per game, he would rise to third in points scored by a UK freshman from the state.
That’s a projected 295 points. Only Rex Chapman (464) and Reed Sheppard (411) have scored more as a UK frosh from the commonwealth.
Both Chapman and Sheppard went on to be top-10 picks in the NBA draft.
“I think I’ve definitely surpassed a lot of expectations I had for myself,” Moreno said. “I kind of thought I was going to come in and be a freshman that played like 12 (or) 15 minutes, and just do what I can do, but really just take it as a learning process. But the summer went well, and Coach Pope put a lot of trust in me and allows me to be a starter. I think once I heard that, I never looked back.”
UK legend Dan Issel talks Malachi Moreno’s freshman season
The popular thought is that Moreno has plenty more to unlock in his game.
He’s done his damage on the interior this season, without flashing much of a mid-range or distance shooting game. Still, there have been moments where it’s clear Moreno must improve his explosiveness and physicality.
Tuesday was a top example, as Moreno — and UK’s frontline in general — struggled to deal with the presence of Georgia big man Somto Cyril in the Bulldogs’ upset win at Rupp Arena.
UK basketball legend Dan Issel was closely watching that one.
In a phone interview with the Herald-Leader, Issel — who remains UK’s all-time leader in points and rebounds — pointed to the need for Moreno to deliver more on the offensive end. The Wildcats managed to lose that Georgia game despite guards Otega Oweh (28 points) and Collin Chandler (18) each matching their career-best scoring totals.
Moreno only put up four shots against the Bulldogs, scoring six points while committing a season-high three turnovers.
“I think that Malachi certainly has the ability to make that contribution on the offensive end,” Issel said. “I think he just has to get a little more dominant and not be afraid that he’s stepping on somebody’s toes offensively.”
Issel wasn’t eligible to play for Kentucky’s varsity squad as a freshman back in 1966. While he didn’t deal with the exact growing pains Moreno has experienced, the UK legend still offered some advice to Moreno in the early stages of his college career.
“It’s a much more physical game (now). We got a chance, not being able to play as freshmen, to work our way through that situation,” Issel said. “(Moreno) was playing against Kentucky boys last year, and now he’s playing against SEC men. He’s got to get a little more physical. Don’t be afraid of the contact. There’s nothing wrong with getting to the free-throw line.”
The step up in competition from Kentucky high school ball to the toughest conference in college basketball has been an oft-cited talking point in Moreno’s progression.
Moreno’s development arc is contingent on him sticking around at Kentucky. He isn’t widely projected to be an NBA draft selection this summer. ESPN’s most recent big board fails to list Moreno among the top 100 draft prospects. The same goes for Sports Illustrated’s big board of the top 50 prospects.
Other outlets are more bullish on Moreno. CBS Sports has him as the No. 56 overall prospect in this year’s draft class. Tankathon has Moreno as a possible first-round draft pick as the No. 26 overall prospect on its big board.
Issel — who previously served as the head coach and general manager of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets — hopes Moreno stays in school.
A return to Kentucky for Moreno would also mean an additional year under Pope’s tutelage. Pope’s 11-year run as a college head coach has come with a quality track record of developing big men.
This reached a crescendo last year, when UK’s Amari Williams became a second-round NBA draft pick.
“Mark played that position and Mark knows how to improve the footwork and how to present yourself in the low post,” Issel said. “... Mark knows what he’s doing. So I think that another year, or maybe even two, would certainly help Malachi.”
Back in August 2024, Moreno pointed to Pope’s playing experience at his position group as a major reason why he chose to commit to the Wildcats.
“I took a lot of pride in that, knowing that (Pope) develops his big men, like personally, not just as a coach. He does it personally,” Moreno said following his commitment. “And he was a big man at Kentucky, so he knows what it takes.”
If Moreno returns, there’s no telling how highly-regarded he’ll be at the close of his Kentucky career.
“I think he’s just scratching the surface on what he can be,” Issel said of Moreno.
