During Mark Pope’s first two seasons in Lexington, we have yet to see him develop a lottery pick in the NBA Draft.
That may be changing next year, as Malachi Moreno is already generating buzz as a potential lottery selection in the 2027 NBA Draft.
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Over at Sports Illustrated, Derek Parker has Moreno ranked as the third-best returning college player who was a 2026 NBA prospect.
Kentucky big Malachi Moreno fell victim to the depth of the ’26 class, putting up enough production to be an intriguing late-first bet in most classes.
In his freshman season with the Wildcats, he averaged 7.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks in just 22.6 minutes per game, showing off versatility on the interior. With similar or better production, he could massively boost his stock.
While Moreno did test the waters this year and even garnered first-round buzz, he ultimately chose to stay with the Wildcats and continue his development. If that goes well, then it’s easy to see the Georgetown native become a lottery pick in what is widely projected to be a weaker draft class in 2027.
Elsewhere, in ESPN’s 2027 NBA Mock Draft by Jeremy Woo, the Wildcats had two players among the top 60 prospects.
Woo has Malachi Moreno ranked 31st overall in the 2027 draft, so he’s not quite as high on the sophomore big man.
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The second Wildcat in Woo’s big board was Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic, who was 39th overall. The 6-foot-8 Wisconsin native shot 50.6% from the field and 48.7% from 3-point range last season with the Cyclones.
Finally, CBS Sports’ 2027 mock draft from Cameron Salerno has Moreno just missing out on the lottery, going 18th overall to the Memphis Grizzlies. Momcilovic actually cracks the first round, going 27th overall to the New York Knicks.
It’s early, but Moreno and Momcilovic are clearly Kentucky’s top NBA prospects entering the 2026-27 college basketball season. Hopefully, they’ll see other Wildcats join them in garnering first-round buzz next year, as that would likely mean Kentucky had a special season that shows Mark Pope has what it takes to bring Kentucky back to title contention.
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