Center Malachi Moreno Should Be Big Point Of Focus In Ohio State's 2025 Class

The 4-star center from Kentucky is scheduled to visit Ohio State on September 7th. Landing Moreno should be a priority for the Buckeyes.

Spencer County's Camden Cox (24) and Great Crossing's Malachi Moreno (24) come together after the No.1 Warhawks rallied to beat the much smaller but tough Spencer team in the first round of the 2024 UK Healthcare KHSAA Boys' Sweet 16 in Lexington. March 20, 2024 / Matt Stone/The Courier Journal / USA

The Ohio State Buckeyes have a chance to put together a really special recruiting class in Jake Diebler's first season as head coach. The Buckeyes have already secured the commitment of four-star shooting guard Dorian Jones from Cleveland, Ohio. They also are in the running for several other major recruits in the 2025 class.

Kiyan Anthony, the son of former NBA star Carmelo Anthony, has been putting on a show as a scorer recently. The four-star shooting guard reportedly does plan to take an official visit to Ohio State sometime this fall. In addition to Anthony, highly-rated five-star point guard Darryn Peterson is reportedly scheduled to visit Ohio State on August 1st. Four-star power forward A'mare Bynum has also added that he plans to take an official visit to Ohio State as well.

These are just a few of the excellent players who have Ohio State on their radars. Not only should Ohio State be focused on getting at least one of the players mentioned above, but there is a seven-footer that the Buckeyes should be prioritizing on their list.

Malachi Moreno is a top-rated center in the 2025 recruiting class. 247 Sports lists him as the No. 3 center in the class, while On3 ranks him as the No. 1 center. At 7-foot, 230 pounds, Moreno has the size and frame to battle with veteran big men in his freshman season.

In his junior season of high school basketball at Great Crossing in Kentucky, the big man averaged a double-double with 16 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. He also added 3.7 blocks and 2.2 assists per game as he helped lead his team to a 36-2 record.

Moreno has narrowed his list of schools in the running for his commitment to eight and the Buckeyes are a part of that group. Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina and Notre Dame are the other seven teams.

As he begins taking official visits this fall, Moreno is scheduled to return to Columbus first. The center reportedly made an unofficial visit to Ohio State back in June. Following his September 7th visit to Ohio State, the big man is set to visit Chapel Hill and the North Carolina Tar Heels on September 14th. The rest of the set schedule at this point is Indiana on September 20th, Arkansas on October 5th and Kentucky on October 12th. An already set official visit is good news for the Buckeyes.

Great Crossing's Malachi Moreno (24) and teammates mob Vince Dawson (1) in jubilation after Dawson's last second shot lifted the Warhawks 48-46 over Newport at Thursday's 2023 Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass holiday basketball tournament at Fairdale High School. Dec. 21, 2023 / Matt Stone/The Courier Journal / USA

Here is why Ohio State should be all in on landing Moreno. Assuming that transfer bigs, Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart stay with the Buckeyes following the 2024-25 season, the addition of Moreno could form a formidable trio of highly-rated big men. Two seven-footers and a 6'9" power forward would make the Buckeyes extremely dominant on the glass with a strong rotation on the front line.

Continuously having seven-footers on the roster has certainly worked for the Purdue Boilermakers. Why couldn't it work for the Buckeyes?

Landing Moreno for the 2025 recruiting class would be massive for Ohio State hoops. This will be an interesting one to watch throughout the rest of the recruiting cycle.