Malachi Moreno college offers: List of schools in contention for top-25 recruit in the 2025 class

By Viraj Mali

Modified Aug 14, 2024 22:53 GMT

Malachi Moreno, the four-star recruit from Kentucky, is one of the best high school prospects in the country. The 7-foot-0 center currently has more than 30 offers from elite schools and is set to announce his commitment on Friday.

However, the center has trimmed his list to eight schools. His list includes Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Moreno is ranked no.25 in the country and is the best player at his position from the class of 2025, as per On3 Industry Rankings. He is also the best overall prospect from the state of Kentucky.

The center mentioned what he is looking for in a dream school during his previous interview with On3.

"I’m going to be looking for a place where I can grow my faith," the four-star recruit said in the interview. "Grow as a player, grow as a person, and be in a family-type environment. I like versatility, but, at the end of the day, I just want to win. Making sure my team has more points on the board than the other team."

Let's look at all the top eight schools that are in contention to land the coveted prospect.

List of schools in contention to sign Malachi Moreno

#8 Louisville

Malachi Moreno, a four-star prospect from Kentucky, included the Louisville Cardinals in his top 8. The 7-foot-0 center was one of the first athletes to receive a scholarship offer from Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey.

Although the Cardinals are yet to land a commitment, the 7-foot-0 center could become one of their first signees from the class of 2025. Louisville has extended 24 offers so far.

#7 Arkansas

Moreno will visit the Arkansas Razorbacks on October 4. The Razorbacks have only landed one commitment so far in five-star point guard, Darius Acuff Jr. The Razorbacks' class of 2025 is ranked no.11 in the country, as per 247Sports.

Moreno averaged 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.2 blocks while shooting 65% during the Adidas circuit. During the NBPA Camp this summer he averaged 17.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and led his team to an unbeaten record.

#6 Notre Dame

Notre Dame is one of the finalists to land the four-star recruit. The Irish extended an offer to the center in April of last year. However, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Notre Dame has a less than 1% chance of landing the prospect.

Notre Dame has yet to acquire a commitment from the 2025 class. So far, they have extended offers to 19 high school prospects. It will be interesting to see if Moreno commits to the Irish.

#5 North Carolina

North Carolina will host the 7-foot-0 center from Kentucky in September. He will accompany his AAU teammate, Braylon Mullins, during the university visit.

The Tar Heels extended an offer to Moreno on May 22 and have pursued the four-star recruit since. North Carolina has extended offers to 18 high school athletes from the class of 2025, but it has yet to land a commitment from the class.

#4 Iowa

Iowa is one of the favorites to sign the star pivot. The 7-foot-0 center spoke about his Hawkeyes visit in an in-depth interview with On3:

"Just the family environment," Moreno said, as per On3. "Coach (Fran) McCaffery actually recruited my older brother Michael when he was around my age, and they’ve just been in contact since... I’m a big family person, so if you show love to any of my family members that puts your foot in the door."

Iowa has yet to announce any commitments from the class of 2025 despite extending offers to 52 of its members. According to 247Sports, their 2024 recruiting class was ranked 92nd.

#3 Ohio State

The Ohio State Buckeyes hosted Malachi Moreno for an unofficial visit earlier in June and are set to welcome him back for an official visit in the coming weeks. The Buckeyes have already secured the commitment of shooting guard Dorian Jones.

Ohio State's class of 2025 is ranked no.19 currently, as per 247Sports. They have extended offers to 29 high school athletes from the class of 2025 and hope to land as many top recruits as possible. The Buckeyes have the third-best odds of landing Moreno, as per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

#2 Indiana

The Indiana Hoosiers are among the heavy favorites to land the commitment of four-star Kentucky prospect Malachi Moreno. Indiana extended an offer to the 7-foot-0 center in October 2022, and he visited the campus in September 2023.

The Hoosiers have extended offers to 30 high school athletes from the class of 2025. Indiana has the second-best odds of landing the four-star center as per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

#1 Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats are currently the leaders in the race to land the coveted center from Georgetown, Kentucky. There is a strong chance the 7-foot-0 center will commit to his home state school of Kentucky on Friday.

Mark Pope has not signed any players from the 2025 class, but that might quickly change. According to On3, Moreno is the 25th-best player in the 2025 class. Moreno is the class's top center, based on the composite rankings.