Kentucky basketball and Mark Pope could add their first 2025 commit on Friday

Will 2025 four-star Malachi Moreno pick Kentucky?

Great Crossing's Malachi Moreno (24), center, gets double-teamed by Spencer County's Keaton Baird (10), left, and Spencer County's Andrew Barron (13) in the second half in the first round of the 2024 UK Healthcare KHSAA Boys' Sweet 16 in Lexington. March 20, 2024 / Matt Stone/The Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mark Pope has yet to land any players in the 2025 class to this point, but that could change very soon. Malachi Moreno is ranked as the 25th best player in the 2025 class rankings, according to On3. According to the composite rankings, Moreno is the number one center in the class.

Moreno is from Kentucky and attends Great Crossing High School in Georgetown. The seven-footer recently announced that he will be committing on Friday, August 16th, at 11:00 a.m. ET in the Great Crossing gym. The feel in the Kentucky basketball program is that Moreno is going to pick the Wildcats, but it will be exciting when the seven-footer officially makes a decision, as anything can happen in recruiting.

Moreno's final eight schools include Kentucky, Iowa, North Carolina, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Louisville, and Indiana.

Sometimes, all a staff needs is to land their first player in a class, and that will start a snowball effect. The hope is that if Moreno does pick Kentucky, some other elite talent will follow in his footsteps.

The second Coach Pope took the job in Lexington, he made Moreno a priority, and it looks like there is a solid chance that will pay off on Friday.

Moreno is an elite big who can finish around the rim with ease. He is going to be a menace down low at whatever school he picks to play at in college. On Friday, Coach Pope and Big Blue Nation will know if the Wildcats have landed their first player in the 2025 class.