A critical Kentucky 2026 basketball target will take a Louisville visit

Mark Pope and his coaching staff have moved their focus to the 2026 recruiting class now that the 2025-26 roster is put together, and one player that the staff will pursue hard is four-star point guard Tay Kinney.

The guard currently plays for Overtime Elite, where he was teammates with Kentucky freshman Jasper Johnson last season.

Kinney, like Johnson, is a Kentucky native from Newport, but he plays his hoops right now in Atlanta with OTE.

Many believe Kentucky, in the end, will land Kinney, but schools like Louisville, Purdue, and Oregon will make a push.

Today, Joe Tipton of On3 reported that Kinney has set up a visit to Louisville this Thursday and Friday. Coach Pope cannot lose a battle to Louisville for an in-state player, so he needs to do everything in his power to land this elite guard.

The 6'2 point guard is going to be a special player, and knowing he is a Kentucky native, Coach Pope needs to make sure he is playing his college hoops in Lexington.

Here is the scouting report on Kinney from Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports, "Kinney is a scoring and playmaking lead guard who is smooth and versatile with his attack. He’s a three-range scoring threat who is creative and crisp with his handle, especially adept at getting to his pull-up, but can also get to the paint. He can rise-up at the rim when he has some momentum, and also owns dexterity and touch as a lay-up maker. He’s capable of knocking down open threes, with a plenty projectable stroke, but could get more consistent after making 33% in the OTE last season and short-arming his release at times. Kinney also has good natural instincts and timing as a passer, averaging five assists per game as a junior."