The 2026 NBA draft finished on Wednesday, so all the names have been called, and the teams have made their selections. So, now we must do the natural, immediate next step: Look ahead to next year’s draft!
As Kentucky Basketball fans, we got to hear two former Wildcats get their names called during the 2026 draft: Jayden Quaintance and Otega Oweh. Now, we look towards next year and talk about which players may be the next to leap to the next level. Hopefully, many players from the 2026-27 team will be selected next year, following what hopes to be a special 2026-27 season.
The name that we are already seeing people believe will be selected highly next year is Malachi Moreno. One Sam Vecenie even went on the record to say he believes Moreno will be drafted in the lottery next year, at pick No. 11.
“On the plus side, Moreno is a good shot-blocker and has potential to be a solid rim protector at 6 feet 11 with a 9-foot-3.5 standing reach,” Vecenie wrote. “Offensively, he’s an excellent passer who averaged 1.8 assists per game and can act as something of a hub at the top of the key because of his comfort with the ball.
“Moreno needs to get stronger and more willing to play with physicality on the interior. He has an immense amount of potential to be the kind of big teams are looking for in the Isaiah Hartenstein mold, but he has work to do to round out his game.”
Moreno went through the draft process this year before ultimately deciding to pull his name out and return to Lexington for his sophomore season. Now, the Bluegrass product will look to make a big splash as a leader and a star for Kentucky next season.
This year’s class of 2026 for the NBA draft was viewed as one of the more elite groups we’ve seen in a while, but next year, not so much. That makes his decision a little easier, on top of certain skills needing work, knowing that it could be a reality that even though he’d be a year older, he would likely get drafted higher than he would have this year.
One other thing that numerous people believe Malachi Moreno could do to help him grow into a great modern big, on top of what he has already sharpened up, is 3-point shooting. Here is a clip from this offseason where Malachi Moreno worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers, and within the clip, you’ll notice some threes being taken.
Will we see a new, more versatile offensive Moreno this upcoming season?
Kentucky fans know that Moreno was lifted into a role that not many expected him to be in during his true freshman season: the starting center for the team for most of the year. Moreno ended up starting 30 of 36 games last season after showing that he was capable of playing at a high level immediately.
Growing up in Georgetown (KY) as a Wildcat fan, Moreno heard many names called on draft night over the years that once wore the blue and white before him. Now, after many years of working towards this and hearing his teammates get drafted, he will get ready to make his way to the next level following a sophomore campaign in Lexington.
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