2026 Five-star Point Guard Taylen Kinney Reveals Top 12 schools

The Newport, Kentucky native narrowed his top schools list from 15 to 12 on Tuesday. Kinney plays for RWE on the Overtime Elite circuit, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Newport's Taylen Kinney (0) reacts after scoring two of his 13 points in the first half against Washington County at Wednesday's 2023 King of the Bluegrass basketball tournament at Fairdale High School. Dec. 20, 2023 / Matt Stone/The Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Overtime Elite (Atlanta, Georgia) five-star senior point guard Taylen Kinney is one step closer to announcing his commitment. On Tuesday evening, Kinney narrowed down his top schools list from 15 to 12, according to Rivals' Joe Tipton.

NEWS: 5⭐️ Tay Kinney is down to 12 schools, source tells @Rivals.

The 6-2 rising senior is one of the top point guards in the country. https://t.co/OlCaBZUirS pic.twitter.com/9yMcl6P9Lj

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) July 22, 2025

The Newport, Kentucky native will choose between the following schools: Auburn, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Oregon, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas, and Xavier.

Kinney eliminated Alabama, Cincinnati, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas State, and Notre Dame from his top schools list where they were heavily recruiting him last winter.

Kinney has made official visits to Kentucky, Louisville, and Purdue, and has upcoming visits scheduled with Arkansas (Sept. 26), Kansas (Aug. 22), Indiana (Aug. 29), Oregon (Sept. 6), and Texas (Sept. 12).

Kinney is rated as the No. 14 overall prospect in the nation, the No. 1 ranked point guard, and the No. 1 overall player in the state of Georgia for the Class of 2026, according to 247Sports.

Earlier this summer, Tay Kinney was one of the best players at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Orlando, where he earned himself First-Team honors. At the event, Kinney averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game, while shooting 52% from the field and nearly 48% from three-point range.

Kinney played for Wildcat Select during the Adidas 3SSB Grassroots Circuit last weekend, where he averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in five games played where they finished 3-2 in Rock Hill.

247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein on Kinney: 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. He’s capable of knocking down open threes, with a plenty projectable stroke, but could get more consistent after making 33% in the OTE last season and short-arming his release at times. Kinney also has good instincts and timing as a passer, averaging 5 assists per game as a junior. He’s great in drive-and-kick type actions, but also understands how to feed the post. While he’s naturally aggressive, he does so without unnecessarily dominating the ball as he plays within the flow pretty instinctively. Defensively, he’s good with his hands and has shown flashes of being able to blow-up ball screens, but like most kids his age, just needs to be more consistent with his approach. Physically, while he measures in at just over 6-foot-1, he plays much bigger than his size, thanks to his long 6-foot-6-plus wingspan, increased muscle mass, and the physicality in his game.

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