Player Spotlight: 2025 Malachi Moreno

Houston Wilson September 14, 2021 @ 07:06 PM

One of the most promising big men I saw this past summer from the 2025 class was Malachi Moreno of Indiana Elite. Moreno played a huge part in helping Indiana Elite become the top team on the adidas circuit this…

Access all of Prep Hoops Next

Subscribe for access to all premium articles and rankings.

One of the most promising big men I saw this past summer from the 2025 class was Malachi Moreno of Indiana Elite. Moreno played a huge part in helping Indiana Elite become the top team on the adidas circuit this summer and showed why he is already considered one of the more elite post players in the country from the 2025 class. Prep Hoops Next caught up with Indiana Elite coach Mike Ertel to talk about the progression Moreno made this summer and what the future holds for him…

“Well for a kid his size, he has to be probably the most skilled for a kid 6’9, 6’10 that I have ever been around. His body has grown so fast and his skillset has really been able to get better. His body has really been able to catch up to his skillset. I really think the sky’s the limit for Malachi.”

Basketball runs in the Moreno family as Ertel knows Malachi’s brother and family fairly well.

“He has an older brother Michael that was really skilled but he was a different type of player but very skilled, he was highly recruited, got hurt during his senior year and ended up going to Eastern Kentucky which is close to where they are from. Before he got hurt he was looking at a number of power five schools. He has a great family and a really good relationship with his older brother.”

Getting a player of Malachi’s potential is something that the Indiana Elite program has not quite seen at the 8th grade level and it took a little adjusting for everybody this summer, Ertel said.

“This was the first year Malachi played with us so it took our guards and other position players a little while to understand the advantage he brings because they were not used to that. But they understood that we had to use him correctly and run the offense through him. We did not want to have many possessions where he did not touch the basketball. He is a caring teammate though, he wants his teammates to be successful too.”

Going forward there are a few things Ertel would like to see Malachi continue to improve on and Ertel explained what some of those things were.

“He understands he has not hit the finish line yet, he knows there is a lot of work left to be done. Strength and conditioning will be very important for him as he keeps on improving. He needs to have useful strength though, I want to see him have result based strength.”

Stay tuned for more from Prep Hoops Next!

Rankings

    array(4) {
  [0]=>
  object(WP_Post)#614 (29) {
    ["ID"]=>
    int(31573)
    ["post_author"]=>
    int(121)
    ["post_date"]=>
    string(19) "2022-10-17 09:31:09"
    ["post_date_gmt"]=>
    string(19) "2022-10-17 14:31:09"
    ["post_content"]=>
    string(383) ""
    ["post_title"]=>
    string(24) "National 2028 Watch List"
    ["post_excerpt"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_status"]=>
    string(7) "publish"
    ["comment_status"]=>
    string(6) "closed"
    ["ping_status"]=>
    string(6) "closed"
    ["post_password"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_name"]=>
    string(13) "2028-rankings"
    ["to_ping"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["pinged"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_modified"]=>
    string(19) "2022-11-16 12:47:28"
    ["post_modified_gmt"]=>
    string(19) "2022-11-16 18:47:28"
    ["post_content_filtered"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_parent"]=>
    int(279)
    ["guid"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["menu_order"]=>
    int(3)
    ["post_type"]=>
    string(4) "page"
    ["post_mime_type"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["comment_count"]=>
    int(0)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
    ["site_id"]=>
    int(6)
    ["permalink"]=>
    string(58) "https://prephoopsnext.com/national/rankings/2028-rankings/"
    ["terms"]=>
    array(0) {
    }
    ["meta"]=>
    array(0) {
    }
    ["elasticsearch"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  [1]=>
  object(WP_Post)#4308 (29) {
    ["ID"]=>
    int(282)
    ["post_author"]=>
    int(1)
    ["post_date"]=>
    string(19) "2020-10-01 18:14:19"
    ["post_date_gmt"]=>
    string(19) "2020-10-01 18:14:19"
    ["post_content"]=>
    string(285) ""
    ["post_title"]=>
    string(24) "National 2027 Watch List"
    ["post_excerpt"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_status"]=>
    string(7) "publish"
    ["comment_status"]=>
    string(6) "closed"
    ["ping_status"]=>
    string(6) "closed"
    ["post_password"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_name"]=>
    string(15) "2027-watch-list"
    ["to_ping"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["pinged"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_modified"]=>
    string(19) "2022-11-16 12:47:13"
    ["post_modified_gmt"]=>
    string(19) "2022-11-16 18:47:13"
    ["post_content_filtered"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_parent"]=>
    int(279)
    ["guid"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["menu_order"]=>
    int(2)
    ["post_type"]=>
    string(4) "page"
    ["post_mime_type"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["comment_count"]=>
    int(0)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
    ["site_id"]=>
    int(6)
    ["permalink"]=>
    string(60) "https://prephoopsnext.com/national/rankings/2027-watch-list/"
    ["terms"]=>
    array(0) {
    }
    ["meta"]=>
    array(0) {
    }
    ["elasticsearch"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  [2]=>
  object(WP_Post)#4307 (29) {
    ["ID"]=>
    int(281)
    ["post_author"]=>
    int(1)
    ["post_date"]=>
    string(19) "2020-10-01 18:14:19"
    ["post_date_gmt"]=>
    string(19) "2020-10-01 18:14:19"
    ["post_content"]=>
    string(288) ""
    ["post_title"]=>
    string(24) "National 2026 Watch List"
    ["post_excerpt"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_status"]=>
    string(7) "publish"
    ["comment_status"]=>
    string(6) "closed"
    ["ping_status"]=>
    string(6) "closed"
    ["post_password"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_name"]=>
    string(15) "2026-watch-list"
    ["to_ping"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["pinged"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_modified"]=>
    string(19) "2022-07-20 22:25:26"
    ["post_modified_gmt"]=>
    string(19) "2022-07-21 03:25:26"
    ["post_content_filtered"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_parent"]=>
    int(279)
    ["guid"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["menu_order"]=>
    int(1)
    ["post_type"]=>
    string(4) "page"
    ["post_mime_type"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["comment_count"]=>
    int(0)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
    ["site_id"]=>
    int(6)
    ["permalink"]=>
    string(60) "https://prephoopsnext.com/national/rankings/2026-watch-list/"
    ["terms"]=>
    array(0) {
    }
    ["meta"]=>
    array(0) {
    }
    ["elasticsearch"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  [3]=>
  object(WP_Post)#4306 (29) {
    ["ID"]=>
    int(280)
    ["post_author"]=>
    int(1)
    ["post_date"]=>
    string(19) "2020-10-01 18:14:19"
    ["post_date_gmt"]=>
    string(19) "2020-10-01 18:14:19"
    ["post_content"]=>
    string(338) ""
    ["post_title"]=>
    string(24) "National 2025 Watch List"
    ["post_excerpt"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_status"]=>
    string(7) "publish"
    ["comment_status"]=>
    string(6) "closed"
    ["ping_status"]=>
    string(6) "closed"
    ["post_password"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_name"]=>
    string(15) "2025-watch-list"
    ["to_ping"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["pinged"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_modified"]=>
    string(19) "2022-07-20 22:24:55"
    ["post_modified_gmt"]=>
    string(19) "2022-07-21 03:24:55"
    ["post_content_filtered"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["post_parent"]=>
    int(279)
    ["guid"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["menu_order"]=>
    int(0)
    ["post_type"]=>
    string(4) "page"
    ["post_mime_type"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["comment_count"]=>
    int(0)
    ["filter"]=>
    string(3) "raw"
    ["site_id"]=>
    int(6)
    ["permalink"]=>
    string(60) "https://prephoopsnext.com/national/rankings/2025-watch-list/"
    ["terms"]=>
    array(0) {
    }
    ["meta"]=>
    array(0) {
    }
    ["elasticsearch"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
}

143 Players Ranked

View Full Rankings

About Our Rankings

Prep Hoops Next prospect rankings have been compiled by our staff with input from high school and club coaches from across the country. Players are ranked formulaically based on their current production as well as their long-term potential as collegiate prospects. We aim to expand and update our prospects rankings several times per year to continue to maintain the most comprehensive, accurate prospect rankings in the country. Feel like we are missing someone? Let us know here and get on our radar by submitting your profile!