By SAM LANCE
ROCK HILL, SC — Class of 2026 five-star guard Taylen Kinney is nearing a list cut, he told ZAGSBLOG.
Kinney, the 6-foot-2 guard out of Overtime Elite and the Wildcat Select Adidas 3SSB program, is one of the best scorers in the 2026 class. He’s already taken official visits to Kentucky, Louisville and Purdue and has Indiana (Aug. 29), Oregon (Sept. 6), Texas (Sept. 12) and Arkansas (Sept. 26) upcoming. Kinney also said he’s planning a trip to Kansas, and the date should be finalized soon.
The five-star plans on making his decision before the Overtime Elite season starts so he can focus on basketball. Kinney broke down some of the schools involved:
Arkansas: “With them, it’s self explanatory. It’s coach [John] Calipari.”
On why Cal’s had so much NBA success: “I don’t know what it is. But it can’t be luck though, because he does it every year.”
Indiana: “It’s good. I’ve talked to coach [Darian] DeVries multiple times, coach Rod [Clark] hits me up all the time. So I’m looking forward to the visit.”
Louisville: “It was a great visit. It was a great visit all-around from practice, to spending time with the staff, spending time with the players. They treated me like I was on the team already. Like, I’m not even committed there and they just showed love.”
What he took away from practice: “The energy in there. Pat Kelsey is high energy, high energy. He just showed a lot of energy and showed he really cares. It was their first practice and to have that much energy and care that much.”
Staff’s message: “They were just saying that I’m their guy. They want me bad, you know. They want Mikel [Brown] to be a one-and-done and they want me to come in and be one-and-done too.”
Kansas: “They got national championships, they got players in the NBA, and they got DP [Darryn Peterson]. I really want to see what they can do with DP. I think he’s a pro. When he goes to Kansas, I want to see what they do, if they let him rock out, what they do.” Assistant coach Jeremy Case is Kinney’s primary contact.
Oregon: “Coach Josh Jamieson reaches out every day, almost every day, shows a lot of love. It means a lot to have [Dana Altman out to watch]. They’re just showing me that they really care in the recruiting process.”
Texas: “They want me to come in and be that guy. A lot about Sean Miller speaks for itself. At Arizona, at Xavier, he was a winner. He puts guys in the league.”
Kinney previously broke down Kentucky and Purdue here. ZAGSBLOG spotted head coaches from all the programs involved, besides Arkansas, courtside to watch Kinney play in Rock Hill.
Recruitment aside, it’s been a busy summer for the five-star.
“I traveled the world, competed against all kinds of competition,” Kinney said. “EuroLeague, overseas, pros, college guys. Just competing against everybody has been a blessing to show what I can do. And especially playing in front of all these coaches, NBA scouts.”
For Wildcat Select this summer, Kinney’s averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 51.7% from the field. He ranks No. 5 on the 3SSB circuit in assists per game, and Kinney said his scoring bag has really taken a jump.
Kinney has also had some business opportunities come forth this summer. He launched his own water brand, 67Water, and it’s really taken off.
“We haven’t really released it yet, but we sold 67 cases,” Kinney said. “It sold out in eight seconds. We got over 20,000 people on the wait list. It just went on Gopuff, and I think it did good numbers yesterday.”
Adidas signed Kinney as well to expand its NIL roster.
“It’s real cool because at a young age all kids dream about having a shoe deal, being signed with a shoe company,” Kinney said. “So it’s just a blessing. It’s crazy that I came this far.”
Kinney is ranked the No. 11 overall prospect in the 2026 class and No. 1 overall point guard by 247Sports. He’s originally from Newport (KY), located just south of Cincinnati.
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