Kentucky basketball will be hosting one of its top 2026 targets on an official visit

Mark Pope's focus has moved on recruiting the 2026 class, and one player at the top of the list is Tay Kinney, who is a Newport, Kentucky native.

Kinney is a five-star point guard who plays currently for Overtime Elite on the same team as Jasper Johnson before he moved on to Kentucky.

On3's Joe Tipton announced on Tuesday that Kinney would be taking an official visit to Kentucky next week. This news comes just weeks after Kinney took a visit to Louisville.

Many schools are after Kinney as he is a five-star and ranked 16th overall in the class, but some recruiting analysts believe this battle will come down to Kentucky and Louisville.

Coach Pope is in Colorado Springs right now coaching the USA U19 Training Camp, and Kinney is a part of this. The two spent some one-on-one time just hours before the news of his official visit.

It is clear that the Wildcats are in a great spot to land one of the best guards in the nation who would be a perfect fit for the Pope system

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."