Elite college basketball recruit Taylen Kinney has now cut down his choice of schools from 12 to eight, announcing the same on his Instagram page. The list of schools includes Mark Pope’s Kentucky, alongside other names such as Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Miami (Florida), Oregon, and Texas. Unfortunately, Purdue, which was in Kinney’s Top 12 list, did not make the cut.
Kinney is a former high school star from Newport High School in Northern Kentucky. He earned all-state honors playing for the Wildcats and even led the school to appearances in the Sweet 16 state tournament in 2023 and 2024. He helped Newport win the small-school All “A” Classic state championship in 2024.
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Kinney has been a longtime target for coach Mark Pope and Kentucky. He even earned a UK scholarship offer while on an unofficial visit to Kentucky last August. Kentucky’s coaches got the chance to evaluate the standout high school star during the NBPA Top 100 Camp in South Carolina and during a USA Basketball Under-19 national team training camp as well. At the national team training camp, Kinney even experienced hands-on coaching from Pope himself.
It’s interesting to note how Kinney’s recruitment is based on his relationship with Adidas outfitted schools. Kinney is an NIL athlete for Adidas and has played AAU basketball on the Adidas 3Stripes Select Basketball circuit as well. He is about to begin his final high school season this year with the Overtime Elite program in Atlanta, which also has an apparel deal with Adidas.
It would be quite interesting to see where Kinney lands in 2026, given that he is one of the top 20 uncommitted players from his class. As of now, many schools, including Kentucky and Louisville, are still in search of their first class of 2026 commit, and perhaps Kinney can be the one for either of them.
Tyran Strokes, Anthony Thompson, and Jordan Smith among many other considerations for Kentucky’s 2026 recruit hunt
Coach Mark Pope is on a continued pursuit to hunt for his first commit from the 2026 class. Besides Taylen Kinney, other stars from the same class, like Tyran Stokes, Anthony Thompson, and Jordan Smith, are options worth considering for Pope.
Tyran Stokes is regarded as one of the top prospects in the 2026 class. The 6’7″ forward from California made a visit to Kentucky in June and also has Kansas and Louisville down his pipeline. However, many regard Kentucky as a finalist for Stokes, who has also indicated his intent to make an early decision.
Anthony Thompson is another 6’7″ forward, currently rated the No. 9 prospect in the nation as per 247sports. Thompson took a visit to Kentucky in January this year and is also tied to programs such as North Carolina, Purdue, and Michigan.
Jordan Smith is a 6’2″ guard from Virginia and is one of the top players in his position in the 2026 class. Till now, he has taken official visits to Kentucky, Louisville, Duke, and Arkansas. If Pope does add Smith to his roster, he can greatly benefit from the young guard’s scoring ability from the outside and at the rim, which has drawn him significant praise throughout the prep world.
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