KANSAS

5-Star 2026 Point Guard Tay Kinney Includes Kansas Basketball in Top 12

One of the top guards in the 2026 class has listed the Kansas Jayhawks as one of a dozen finalists for his services.
Dillon Davis|
Denny Medley-Imagn Images

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Kansas Jayhawks

The Kansas Jayhawks have made the cut for one of the top high school prospects in the 2026 class.

On Tuesday, Rivals reported that five-star point guard Tay Kinney from Overtime Elite in Georgia has narrowed his list of interested schools to 12. KU is one of the dozen programs on the list which also includes Kentucky, Texas, Auburn, and others.

Kinney is currently ranked as the No. 3 point guard in the country and the No. 13 recruit overall in the 2026 class. The 6-foot-2 guard has already taken official visits to Kentucky, Purdue, and Louisville, and has plans to visit Kansas on Aug. 22.

“Bill Self, he’s a great coach,” said Kinney in a previous interview with Rivals. “He’s got a National Championship. I really wanna see what they do with DP (Darryn Peterson) this year. But I think he will do good. I think it’s a good program.”

The 6-foot-2 guard has exploded on the recruiting trail this summer after averaging 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game during this summer’s National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Camp. As a junior at Overtime Elite this past season, Kinney averaged 12.3 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game.

The Jayhawks don’t currently have any verbal commitments from 2026 recruits, but the scheduled visit from Kinney is one of many planned from some of the best players in the class.

KU will need someone of Kinney’s talent with the team likely losing Darryn Peterson to the NBA after this year and point guards Melvin Council Jr. and Jayden Dawson each only having one year left of eligibility.

The visit in August, which also coincides with the opening weekend of the 2025 Kansas football season, could go a long way in securing his commitment.

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Dillon Davis
DILLON DAVIS

Being a Kansas Jayhawks fan was never a choice for me. I grew up in Topeka, Kansas, surrounded by a family full of Jayhawks. I was even born during a Kansas basketball NCAA Tournament game, so I guess you could say it was fate for me to be a Jayhawk too. When it came time for me to go to college, there was only one place I applied and only one place I wanted to go – KU. I've since turned that passion into sports writing. I've written about KU sports for more than seven years and produced hundreds of KU news articles in that time. I love storytelling, I love KU and I love interacting with my fellow Jayhawks. Rock Chalk!

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