Kansas Basketball Recruiting: 2026 Guard Taylen Kinney Lists Jayhawks in Final 8

The eight schools Kinney is considering are Kentucky, Oregon, Texas, Louisville, Kansas, Arkansas, Miami, and Indiana. Purdue, Tennessee, Auburn, and Xavier did not make the cut.

Kinney also commented that this will be his final list and the next time he makes a big announcement, he will be finding his new home.

Kinney, a 6'2'', 185-pound guard, is the No. 16 overall player and the No. 1 point guard in the class of 2026 via 247Sports Composite. He has made a name for himself over the past couple of years as he has made it look easy against competition.

Kinney, who is known for his playmaking and scoring, just finished up a great AAU season with Wildcat Select, a program that runs in the 3SSB Circuit.

At the Adidas 3SSB Palmetto Road Championship, Kinney filled the stat sheet while leading his team to a 3-2 record. In his final AAU tournament, he averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.

This isn't new for Kinney, as leading into his final AAU season, he was showcasing his talent in the Overtime Elite league in Atlanta, GA. Throughout the 2024-25 season, Kinney averaged 20.1 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game. He shot 55.6% from the field and 33.3% from behind the arc.

He also put up 23 points, 8 assists, and 2 rebounds in his one playoff performance.

It's a good sign for Bill Self and Co. to make the updated list, but this is where things start to get interesting for the Jayhawk program. Kinney, who would absolutely help shape the 2026 Kansas recruitment class, is from Newport, Kentucky. Two big-name, talented schools going after Kinney happen to be both Louisville and Kentucky.

Although Kinney announced this is his final list, there is no announcement for when he will commit. The Jayhawks still have time to make a last-second push and are fully loaded with their new assistant coach, Tony Bland, officially a part of the staff. Bland already seems to have an impact on the recruitment trail, so there's potential hope for Jayhawk fans.

Kinney is a guard this Jayhawk staff will want to make a push for, as he is an elite 2-way player. Until then, only time will tell where Kinney takes his talent come fall 2026.