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BREAKING: Top 2025 Center, Malachi Moreno Commits to Kentucky

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Top 2025 center Malachi Moreno has committed to play for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats.
UK Athletics

There it is! Mark Pope has his first top 25 high school prospect, as Malachi Moreno has committed to Kentucky over Indiana, Ohio State, North Carolina, and others. The in-state product announced his decision at Great Crossing High School in Georgetown (KY) on Friday.

While Kentucky was Moreno’s dream school, they were not always in the lead in his recruitment. In fact, for a large part of the recruitment, Indiana was considered the leader.

However, Moreno, a top three center in the 2025 class and one of the highest-rated centers from Kentucky in years, quickly became a priority for Pope when he took the Kentucky head coaching job back in April. From that point, the current staff communicated with Moreno weekly and brought him in for multiple unofficial visits to campus and practice, ultimately leading to his commitment.

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If you recall from Pope’s introductory press conference, Pope spoke on continuing to recruit in-state talent. “These young men that grow up in Kentucky, they bring a spirit to the team that cannot be fabricated or replaced. And it helps us to win, and we will continue to recruit them,” he said.

He has followed through on that, bringing in two talented in-state freshmen this season, and now has another coming next season.

What was Moreno ultimately looking for in a school?

“I’m going to be looking for a place where I can grow my faith,” he told On3 this summer. “Grow as a player, grow as a person, and be in a family-type environment,” and he believes he has found that in Kentucky.

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With a 7-foot, 230-pound frame, Moreno is considered a true center. While he will need to become a more consistent shooter, he is versatile and has a good feel for the game. He runs the floor well and understands offensive spacing, scoring in transition and off cuts to the basket, and he also has the strength and footwork to score in the post. What Mark Pope loves about him most is his ability to facilitate the offense from the high post, using handoffs and finding teammates cutting to the basket. Defensively, he is a little flat-footed to defend on the perimeter, but again, will use his physicality in the post.

Moreno becomes Kentucky’s first commit of the 2025 class as the staff looks to build upon the class, with multiple targets making their decision this fall. One of those targets, Jasper Johnson will make his decision at the end of the month, with it coming down to Alabama and Kentucky. Another target, Braylon Mullins, one of the best shooters in the country, is an AAU teammate of Moreno’s.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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BB Recruiting

Kentucky Receives First Transfer Commitment From Top 25 Prospect, “Not Many People Get Opportunities Like This”

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Kentucky transfer Kam Williams prepares to shoot.

While all the attention is on Kentucky’s matchup with Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen, the transfer portal officially opened on Monday and the staff has been hard at work.

Already tossing a wide net, reaching out to nearly a dozen guys in the past few days, the Cats have reeled in their first commitment from Top 25 ranked (247Sports), four-star transfer Kam Williams from Tulane.

With a 6-8, 190-pound frame, Williams has good size. What caught the staff’s eye is his ELITE shooting ability, shooting better than 41 percent this past season and that includes 17 threes made beyond 25 feet. He excels best in catch-and-shoot situations, where he ranks in the 94th percentile.

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Williams received interest from many schools in addition to Kentucky, such as Florida, Louisville, and St. John’s among others. Why did Williams commit to Kentucky so quickly?

“Not many people get opportunities like this, so I wanted to pull the trigger fast,” Williams told ESPN. “More people are waiting to fill that spot, so I had to take advantage.”

“My dream is to play in the NBA. Kentucky’s culture and background shows that they care about their players, especially developing them into the best players they can be.”

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Kentucky Named a Finalist for Five Star, Top 5 NBA Prospect Nate Ament

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2025 top five prospect Nate Ament on his visit to Kentucky.
UK Athletics

Mark Pope has received three top-35 commitments in his first high school recruiting class, including two high 4-star commits in Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno.

However, his first top-10 prospect still eludes him after missing out on Caleb Wilson last month… at least for now.

Over the last few weeks, Pope and his staff have focused heavily on top-five prospect Nate Ament.

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Ament, the second-ranked power forward in the 2025 class, cut his list down to five schools earlier this week: Duke, Louisville, Tennessee, Arkansas, and the Kentucky Wildcats.

The 6-foot-9 prospect has visited each of them except Arkansas over the last five months, with a decision expected in the next month or so. Where does each program stand?

According to Joe Tipton of On3, Louisville and Duke have “positioned themselves” the best in this recruitment, giving Pat Kesley and the Cardinals a slight lead. However, there is still time, and one thing that could shake things up the most is NIL, reported to be one of Ament’s biggest priorities.

Elsewhere at On3, Jamie Shaw did his own update, where he said this could be down to a Kentucky vs. Louisville battle.

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“Speaking with sources at this point in time it does sound like there is a split room around Nate Ament with Duke, Louisville, and Kentucky. With the intel I am currently getting, I would not be surprised to see this ultimately come down to a Kentucky and Louisville battle,” Shaw wrote, later adding that a decision could come in the next few weeks.

Ament is fresh off a visit to Kentucky, where he saw Rupp Arena at its best as the Wildcats completed the season sweep of Tennessee. That being his most recent visit, along with Pope visiting for Ament’s Senior night, the hope is it made a lasting impact, but will it be enough?

Time will tell, but the Cats are a legitimate contender to land Ament.

Be sure to read Shaw’s update here.

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Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

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Kentucky Hosting Top Five Recruit Nate Ament

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Top five prospect Nate Ament will be visiting Kentucky in Rupp Arena as they take on Tennessee.
USA Basketball

After missing out on Caleb Wilson, Kentucky has shifted focus to its last remaining prospect, Nate Ament. The 6-foot-9 small forward prospect out of Warrenton, Virginia, is now the Wildcats’ last remaining prospect in the high school ranks for the 2025 class.

Ament has set up a visit to Kentucky, which was first reported by On3’s Joe Tipton. He will be in attendance when Tennessee travels to Rupp Arena on February 11th, with both the Wildcats and the Volunteers in the mix within the recruitment.

It is important to note that Kentucky is behind in this recruitment as they prioritized Caleb Wilson over Ament which did not pay off in the end. Ament has already visited Duke, Tennessee, Louisville, Texas, and Notre Dame. He is currently down to 11 schools including the Cats.

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Duke has been considered the longtime favorite in the recruitment but Mark Pope and company will have the chance to sell themselves before Ament decides to commit to another school.

Mark Pope even recruited Ament during his visit to Tennessee, where Kentucky pulled the upset on the road. As the team was celebrating coming off the floor, Pope passed Ament saying “Let’s go, Nate,” and “C’mon, Nate.”

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