Purdue Among Contenders to Land Nation's Top-Ranked Point Guard in 2026 Class
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The top-ranked point guard in the 2026 recruiting class is seriously considering Purdue as a potential destination. On Tuesday, five-star talent Taylen Kinney narrowed his list of schools down to 12, with the Boilermakers making the cut.
On3's Joe Tipton reported on Kinney's news via a post on X. Along with Purdue, the 6-foot-1 guard is also considering Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville, Texas, Arkansas, Xavier, Indiana, Miami, Oregon, Tennessee, and Kansas.
Kinney is ranked as the No. 1 point guard in the 2026 recruiting class, per 247Sports' Composite rankings. He's also listed as the No. 11 overall prospect in the cycle, receiving a five-star rating.
The talented guard currently plays for Overtime Elite in Atlanta. He is one of 20 players coach Matt Painter and his staff have offered in the 2026 class.
Purdue currently has just one player in the 2026 class committed: 6-foot-1 combo guard Luke Ertel, a native of Fortville, Ind.
Taylen Kinney's game
Kinney is a point guard capable of scoring the basketball in a variety of ways. He has a demonstrated ability to beat guys off the dribble and attack the basket. Even at 6-foot-1, he's shown the ability to finish in traffic.
The talented guard is also able to knock down pull-up jumpers and has tremendous range from behind the three-point line. He can also be a killer in the mid-range game.
Kinney is coming off a season with Overtime Elite in which he averaged 20.1 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game. His three-point percentage was barely above 33% but he did shoot the ball at a 55.6% clip from the floor.
Kinney would certainly be a huge addition to Purdue's 2026 recruiting class, especially with the program's all-time assist leader, Braden Smith, departing after the 2025-26 campaign.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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