Purdue Cracks Top-15 for 5-Star Guard in 2026 Recruiting Class
Purdue is one of 15 schools still in the running to land Taylen Kinney, a five-star guard in the 2026 recruiting class. The Newport, Ky. native narrowed his list down on Christmas Day, per Joe Tipton of On3.
A 6-foot-1 guard, Kinney is ranked as the No. 18 overall prospect in the 2026 class, per 247Sports. Along with Purdue, he's also considering Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Kansas State, Auburn, Kentucky, Alabama, Oregon, Louisville, Cincinnati, Arkansas, Xavier and Notre Dame.
Kinney began his high school career in Newport before transferring to play with Overtime Elite in Atlanta. This season, the five-star guard is averaging 22.1 points, 4.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
Kinney is currently shooting better than 70% from the floor and 42% from 3-point range.
In Overtime Elite's most recent game against Cold Hearts, Kinney put together a stellar performance. He scored 28 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals.
Purdue currently has one player committed in its 2026 class, landing a verbal pledge from three-star guard Luke Ertel, a 6-foot-1 guard out of Mount Vernon, Ind.
Taylen Kinney highlights
Taylen Kinney showed his ability to score from anywhere on the court in last weekend’s win over #2 Blue Checks 🪣 @Taylen_0
— Overtime Elite (@OvertimeElite) December 16, 2024
27 PTS l 4 REB l 3 AST l 2 STL l 63% FG l +28 pic.twitter.com/hcETHi8IoP
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