BREAKING: Malachi Moreno withdraws from NBA Draft, will return to Kentucky

Malachi Moreno will withdraw from the 2026 NBA Draft and return to Kentucky for his sophomore season, sources tell KSR.

The standout center out of Georgetown canceled all remaining workouts with NBA teams ahead of the May 27 deadline and informed Mark Pope of his final decision on Sunday. Earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors in year one, Moreno was a potential first-round pick in June’s draft, fielding interest from the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers, among others.

He worked out for all 30 franchises at the GSL Sports Group Pro Day in Los Angeles last week.

At the end of the day, though, his desire to help Kentucky hang banner No. 9 while pushing toward lottery status in 2027 was the final deciding factor in keeping him in Lexington for one more ride.

Moreno appeared in all 36 games with 30 starts for the Wildcats as a freshman, finishing with season averages of 7.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest. He registered a team-best three double-doubles with 11 double-figure scoring efforts and four games with double figures on the glass, leading the team in rebounding on 18 separate occasions and blocks 17 different times.

His biggest individual highlight came in Baton Rouge, the hometown hero drilling a game-winning buzzer-beater at LSU to complete Kentucky’s 18-point second-half comeback.

Miracles can still happen even before Mardi Gras 😉 pic.twitter.com/a2X6XwyluM

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 15, 2026

A former McDonald’s All-American out of high school as a consensus top-25 prospect, the in-state standout originally committed to Kentucky over Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Ohio State as the No. 1 center in the country and Mark Pope’s first pledge in the class of 2025.

“I’m going to the Big Blue and I’m going there because I felt like it was the right fit for me,” he told KSR at the time. “There is no better place than home.”

Expected to play behind Jayden Quaintance and Brandon Garrison when he first arrived, Moreno fought to earn a permanent starting role and kept it the rest of the way as a focal point of the offense. Now, he’s decided to officially run it back as a sophomore, projected to be one of the best bigs in the SEC with All-America upside.

“Malachi Moreno was the number one priority for us going into this portal season,” Pope said. “We think that he’s going to be the best center in all of college basketball next year here at Kentucky.”

Welcome back, No. 24.