Elite '26 PG Taylen Kinney Names Louisville to Top Schools

The Newport, Ky. native is a top-20 prospect in the Class of 2026.

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

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It might be Christmas Day, but recruiting never sleeps, including for the Louisville men's basketball program.

Atlanta (Ga.) Overtime Elite point guard and Newport, Ky. native Taylen Kinney, who is one of the top prospects in the Class of 2026, announced his list of top 15 schools on Wednesday with the Cardinals making the cut.

It'll be stiff competition to land Kinney's commitment. Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Cincinnati, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Oregon, Purdue, Tennessee and Xavier also made his list of top schools.

While first-year head coach Pat Kelsey has only been on the job for nine months, he and his staff at Louisville have already invested a lot of time recruiting Kinney. They have watched Kinney at several stops over the summer and fall, including the 3SSB All-American Camp, the KABC Titans Shootout and in the Overtime Elite itself.

The 6-foot-0, 160-pound ball handler is a consensus four-star prospect by the four major recruiting services, and ranks as the No. 4 point guard and 18th-ranked prospect overall by the 247Sports Composite.

Nine games into Overtime Elite's 2024-25 season, Kinney has established himself as one of the top players in the league. Playing for RWE, is averaging 22.1 points, 4.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He's also shooting 62.7 percent from the field anf 42.9 percent on three-point attempts.

Louisville is still searching for their first commitment in both the 2025 and 2026 recruiting cycles.

(Photo of Taylen Kinney: Matt Stone - The Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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