Four-star 2025 center puts Kentucky basketball in top 11 schools

Kentucky makes top 11 for dominant 2025 center.

The Wildcats' mascot played to the crowd during Kentucky basketball's Blue-White scrimmage tipped off at Northern Kentucky University on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. / Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA

Kentucky Coach Mark Pope is after some elite recruits in the 2025 class at all different positions. When putting together a recruiting class, coaches often go after different targets at multiple positions in case they miss on a player. The staff ranks players as the main targets and backup targets.

Based on the way this 2025 class is shaping up, the coaching staff sees five-star center Malachi Moreno as the team's top option at center. While this is the case, the staff is also after four-star seven-footer Eric Reibe, who is ranked as the 40th-best player in the 2025 class.

Both Moreno and Reibe have a ton of upside, and it sounds like both are planning to take official visits to Lexington. Moreno already has one scheduled for October, and Reibe might not be far from him on scheduling one.

Recently, Reibe put out his list of top 11 schools, which included Kentucky, UConn, North Carolina, Kansas, Creighton, Stanford, Oregon, West Virginia, Ohio State, Indiana, and Harvard.

When watching Reibe play, he has a ton of upside and is just a classic seven-footer based on the way he rebounds and can score around the rim. The goal now for the coaching staff will be to get Reibe on campus for a visit and sell to him what his role would be if he chose Kentucky.

The staff has done an excellent job early in the recruiting process, and sooner than later, it is going to lead to some of the top players in the 2025 class picking Kentucky.