LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX18) — Great Crossing center Malachi Moreno has seen plenty of success throughout his high school career, and now he can add McDonald’s All-American to that list.
“It just shows that the hard work never stops. All my dreams are starting to come to fruition, and it’s only a matter of time I get to play with McDonald’s All-American across my chest,” Moreno said.
“It’s something I’ve always prayed about. Something I’ve always hoped would come true, and now that it’s coming true, it’s time to take advantage of it.”
“To see a graphic with his name on it on ESPN, any high school basketball player, they’d be lying to you if they told you that wasn’t their ultimate goal as they call to be a burger boy. It’s a cool accomplishment,” Great Crossing boys basketball head coach Steve page said.
Question: did you ever think you’d get to this point that you are right now?
“If I’m going to be honest, not really because I didn’t really take basketball seriously until I got to about seventh grade. So back then I didn’t really think this was a possibility, but once I started to take it more serious, that’s when I realized I kinda want to do this,” Moreno said.
Certainly a good decision to stick with it. Moreno is averaging 21 points and 15 rebounds per game this season while leading his team to a current 17-and-4 record with nine games remaining in the regular season in hopes of chasing the program’s first ever state title.
“All the personal success is great, but at the end of the day it’s about the name on the front, not the name on the back. I put these goals [taps on his chest] first and my personal goals second,” Moreno said.
“He wants to be playing on March 28th in Rupp Arena at 8 o’clock for a state title. And while McDonald’s All-American, he was ranked 23 by ESPN today, those things are great and he likes those things, but at the same time that’s not what defines him,” Page said.
The future Kentucky wildcat was the only one among the three 2025 signees to earn a spot on the rosters. He’s the 79th All-American to sign with Kentucky since 1979 and just the sixth from Kentucky.
“I haven’t talked to Coach Pope a lot, but in the interactions I’ve talked with him, he’s as genuine as what everyone sees. And he’s the perfect person to coach Malachi because that’s how Malachi is,” Page said.
“He’s going to play hard. He’s not going to be driven by the extra yelling or anything like that. He wants to be successful and he’s a genuine person. Coach Pope, those two I think will be an absolute perfect fit for each other.”
