Top-50 sophomore Malachi Moreno talks his recruitment, visits
The 2025 class, like past classes we’ve seen, has a fair share of talented forwards. Malachi Moreno is on that list. Great Crossing’s talented sophomore big is a 7-foot-1 forward from Georgetown, Kentucky, and this has already been an impressive year for him.
This past weekend the Kroger Hometown Pickup game finished with 22 points, 10 blocks, and 12 rebounds. Evidently, Moreno doesn’t shy away from using his size to affect his opponents on the defensive end. Offensively, he uses his length a lot around the rim and is a very efficient paint player (shot 10/10 in that game).
This season, Moreno is averaging a double-double of 15.6 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks per game. Good numbers in year two for the talented sophomore. I’ve seen real progression since seeing him during Spring and Summer AAU sessions last year.
His recruitment has been a solid reflection of how good he has been over the last few months. The breakout began last summer and hasn’t seen any slowing down with the play of Moreno as of late.
Moreno has been on an unofficial visit spree this season. Visiting programs like Indiana, Purdue, Cincinnati, Xavier, and others. It’s been really clear that as far as 2025 prospects go, he will be a major priority for a handful of high-major programs.
We tapped into that recruitment with Moreno and he discussed it, along with his game, in an interview with Stockrisers.com.
Which schools are heavily involved?
“Purdue, Ohio State, Mizzou, Xavier, Indiana, Cincinnati, and Iowa. A couple of other schools like West Virginia and Tennessee have started to get involved.”
So those two are new?
“Yes, West Virginia and Tennessee are the newest. I’ve been hearing from the rest since the summer.”
Break down Purdue’s pitch and your thoughts on Painter.
“He’s a great coach and he is very good at developing big guys like myself. You can see he knows what he’s talking about when you watch Zach Edey, he’s killing the NCAA.”
Cincinnati, what have they been pitching to you, and how’s your relationship with Wes Miller?
“They have been saying that they will put me in a place to succeed and build a relationship with my family. Coach Miller is a great guy and he’s very fun to be around.”
Indiana, your relationship with them, and your thoughts on Coach Woodson?
“I have known a couple of guys on the Indiana team since I was little because of my older brother playing with Indiana Elite and Team Teague. Coach Woodson is a great coach and has coached some of the greats like Chris Paul, so I know he can get me to the places I need to be.”
Visits, are you done for the season, if not, where will you go?
“I’ve got an SEC visit I’m working on coming up. I really go on visits when I can, it’s hard to go during the season but I get a couple of days to go on visits.”
And which visits have you taken?
“I’ve been to Purdue, Cincy, Xavier, Indiana, Ohio State, Iowa, and EKU.”
How’s your season going and how has your game evolved?
“My team's season has gone very well. We are 14-3 and we have a couple of big games coming up. I’ve tried to expand my game. I’ve worked on my handles and my shot for the most part. I wanna be able to stretch the floor and help my team even more.”
And this AAU season, are you playing with the same squad, and your hopes during AAU?
“I’m playing with the same squad. I’m just trying to use that time to improve even more and show my style of play to the college coaches.”