Two of Kentucky basketball’s three 2025 recruiting class signees are the subject of a prevalent, if maybe lazy, narrative. Guard Jasper Johnson and center Malachi Moreno, the first two players in the 2025 class to pledge to UK coach Mark Pope, are both Kentucky natives who chose to attend college in their home state.
To be clear, both commitments will be important additions to the Cats’ on-court lineup for the upcoming campaign, particularly when combined with Washington, D.C.-based point guard Acaden Lewis. The 247Sports Composite ranks Johnson, a left-handed guard who stands 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds, as the 16th best player in the 2025 class. Johnson is a unanimous five-star recruit.
The 6-foot-11, 230-pound center, Moreno, is ranked No. 28 in the class and is a four-star recruit.
However, the background of each player has dominated the conversation around their signing.
Johnson is the grandson of famous UK athletics official Alvis Johnson and the son of former NFL and Harrodsburg, UK football player Dennis Johnson. Johnson started playing prep basketball at Woodford County, and in 2023, he guided Versailles to the Sweet 16 state tournament semifinals. The preseason favorite to win Kentucky Mr.
Basketball in 2025 as the state’s best high school senior is Moreno, a standout big man at Georgetown’s Great Crossing. Moreno led the Warhawks to the Sweet 16 semifinals the previous season.
