WATCH: Mark Pope shares a special moment with a crucial 2026 five-star recruit

Mark Pope is looking to land a five-star point guard in the 2026 class.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope walks onto the court Thursday, March 27, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sweet 16 March Madness tournament game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mark Pope and Kentucky freshmen Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno are in Colorado Springs for the USA U19 Training Camp, and a very crucial 2026 recruit is also participating in this event.

The recruit is five-star Tay Kinney, who is a Newport, Kentucky native but plays his current hoops for Overtime Elite in Atlanta. Johnson, like Kinney, is a Kentucky native, and these two were on the same time in Overtime Elite last season.

The battle for Kinney involves a bunch of schools, but many believe it will be a battle of the Bluegrass as Pope will look to take down Louisville's Pat Kelsey to land this highly coveted point guard.

In Colorado Springs, KSR's Jack Pilgram is in attendance and posted a video of Kinney shooting on a side court with Pope rebounding for the five-star. It is clear that these two are building a close bond that will hopefully help the Wildcats land this elite prospect.

Kinney is the type of guard who would be perfect to run what Coach Pope wants in an offense, which is a reason why Big Blue Nation wants to see him be a part of Kentucky's 2026 recruiting class.

With Kinney being a Kentucky native, Pope needs to do everything in his power to make sure he is playing for the Wildcats. Louisville is going to make a hard push so fans could see a Pope vs. Kelsey battle for an elite in-state player.

Here is the video of Pope and Kinney sharing a moment at the USA U19 Training Camp.

Mark Pope got some one-on-one time with Tay Kinney during his time in Colorado Springs

Thought to be a head-to-head battle between Kentucky and Louisville for the top-20 recruit’s commitment

Native of Newport, KY pic.twitter.com/8wEiRj3dJ8

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) June 17, 2025