Malachi Moreno's only wish for his 19th birthday was a win over Purdue

Malachi Moreno was a player that Mark Pope raved about during the offseason. At least through one preseason game, the freshman big man looked the part of someone who will take on an important role for this season’s Kentucky Wildcats.

Moreno, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Friday, impressed during his team’s 78-65 exhibition win over top-ranked Purdue in Rupp Arena. He finished with eight points (4-5 FG), four rebounds, one block, and one steal in 22 minutes. This wasn’t your usual preseason opponent that Moreno did this to, either — the Georgetown native was excelling against real Power 4 college players with national title aspirations.

But the path to reach this point wasn’t always so clear. Moreno had been lauded as a top high school player at nearby Great Crossing for years, but questions loomed about his ability to impact the game at the next level. Interestingly enough, it was Purdue head coach Matt Painter (among many others) who helped push Kentucky towards the seven-footer.

“I said take Malachi Moreno,” Painter explained in the postgame press conference, referencing a past conversation he had with UK assistant coach Mark Fox. “He’s going to be good. And they’d go and see him and sometimes he’d be ehh.

“I just promise you, he’s got a lot of substance, he’s a good kid, he’s long, he wants to be a player. Just too many good qualities. When you have character and you have talent and you’re 7-1, just keep working with them, man. They’re gonna be great.”

Malachi Moreno said he teared up a little hugging his mother (also “his rock”) after the game. The two continued the special moment after his interview. A surreal moment for the hometown kid. #BBN @FOX56News pic.twitter.com/2oweXT3nNN

— Colby Wilson (@colbyywilsonn) October 25, 2025

Even when Moreno was putting up big numbers at the high school level, he was doing so against local competition. Some labeled him as “soft” early in his high school career. But Moreno elected to stay home throughout high school instead of making the jump to an out-of-state prep program. That decision paid off with a state championship and a commitment to the college he grew up cheering for.

While Pope refused to take the bait and go along with the narrative that Moreno was “soft”, he did admit that this version of Moreno is not the one everyone saw even just a few months ago. His game has expanded to the point where he’s already fighting for meaningful minutes in the rotation. The sky is Moreno’s limit.

“I wouldn’t use the word soft, but I would have just said he was kind of a one-position guy,” Pope said after the Purdue win. “Wasn’t rebounding out of his position, wasn’t rim-protecting out of his position. He’s just made incredible progress and that’s a real tribute to his family and himself, but he’s got a chance to grow into a really special player.”

Especially with Jayden Quaintance continuing to rehab his torn ACL, which is expected to keep him out of action for at least a couple more months, Moreno’s minutes won’t be going anywhere for the time being. If anything, his play against Purdue earned him more trust from Pope and the coaching staff. He and Brandon Garrison will be battling for the center minutes — healthy competition will be good for them both.

But Moreno could have sat on the bench all night against Purdue and still would have been just as satisfied with the outcome.

“I asked for a win for my birthday,” Moreno said. “And I got it. So my wish came true.”

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