After committing to Kansas Tay Kinney is trying to poach Kentucky's top 2026 target

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Sep 29, 2025 5:03 PM ET

Kentucky Athletics

On the 28th, a player who at one time many thought would end up at Kentucky committed to Kansas. That player is five-star point guard Tay Kinney, and some members of Big Blue Nation aren't too happy with this commitment.

Kentucky fans are upset because Kinney is a Kentucky native from Newport, and early into this recruitment, it seemed like he would be a Wildcat. Kentucky has a few other guards they are looking at in this class, including Caleb Holt and Deron Rippey Jr.

After Kinney made his decision to play his college hoops at Kansas, he was asked about what player in the 2026 class he would try to get to follow him to Kansas, and he had this to say, "Shoot, I already know one that's coming. Right when I said I was going, I put that call in. I ain't going to say his name, but he going to announce. And then trying to get Tyran (Stokes).”

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After Kinney told Joe Tipton of On3 this about Stokes, it has some Kentucky fans concerned. For a while, it seemed like the Wildcats had a lead for the number one player in the 2026 class, Stokes, but now many sources have made it clear that this is a neck and neck three-team race.

The two other teams in this race, aside from Kentucky, are Kansas and Oregon. Stokes has the chance to be a generational type of talent, so Coach Pope needs to do everything in his power to make sure that he ends up in Lexington.

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It is starting to seem like a decision could be right around the corner for Stokes, so these next few weeks are going to be very important for Kentucky in this battle.

Many college basketball fans are starting to question Pope's recruiting after Kinney, a Kentucky native, went out of state, but landing Stokes would fully end that narrative.

Kentucky has not yet landed a player in the 2026 class, but it is coming down to the wire for a lot of elite recruits. Coach Pope has put himself in an excellent spot for a handful of players in the top 25, but it is time to finish, so the next month is going to prove a lot about Pope on the trail.

For the Kentucky basketball fans who love to follow basketball recruiting, it is getting to a very fun part of the year.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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