As March Madness takes center stage in college basketball, high school basketball is also celebrating its top performers with award season in full swing.
Malachi Moreno, a standout at Great Crossing High School and a Kentucky Wildcats signee, has been named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball. The award, presented annually to the state’s top senior, is voted on by coaches, media members, and past winners.
Moreno has been dominant this season, averaging 21.5 points, 14.8 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, and 3.5 assists. His Great Crossing team enters the Sweet 16 with a 23-game winning streak and is set to face Daviess County on March 27. Over his career, Moreno has amassed nearly 2,400 points and close to 1,900 rebounds since joining the program as an eighth grader.
On the girls’ side, Sacred Heart’s Zakiyah Johnson earned the title of Kentucky’s Miss Basketball after leading the Valkyries to their fifth straight state championship. Johnson has also been named Gatorade’s Kentucky Girls Basketball Player of the Year for an unprecedented four consecutive years. Across six varsity seasons—two at Shelby County and four at Sacred Heart—she scored an impressive 3,870 points, with over 3,000 coming during her time at Sacred Heart.
Johnson, a McDonald’s All-American, is set to continue her basketball career at LSU, adding to an already decorated high school legacy.