4-star PG Tay Kinney begins Kentucky official visit today

One of Kentucky’s top recruiting targets will be in Lexington over the next few days.

According to On3’s Joe Tipton, four-star prospect Tay Kinney begins his official visit with UK this evening (Monday, June 23) and will stay on campus through Wednesday morning. Originally from Newport, KY, the 6-foot-2 point guard has previously taken official visits to Purdue (January) and Louisville (June), with plans to OV at Oregon in September. He’s already been to Lexington several times for unofficial visits.

Kinney, who plays for Overtime Elite (GA), is considered a top target in the 2026 cycle for Mark Pope and the Kentucky staff. The rising high school senior is ranked as the No. 16 overall recruit in the country, per the On3 Industry Ranking.

Tay Kinney, one of the top point guards in the 2026 class and a native of Newport, KY, will begin his official visit to Kentucky later today. https://t.co/zVmno5L8Xl pic.twitter.com/lXGz2GNtLj

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) June 23, 2025

As a talented Bluegrass native, Kinney is being prioritized by Pope on the recruiting trail. Growing up around Kentucky fans, he’s no stranger to the Big Blue Nation. Assistant coach Cody Fueger is also playing a role in this recruitment.

“It’s definitely grown over the weeks, months,” Kinney recently told KSR of his relationship with Pope and the UK staff. “They want me to get on campus as soon as possible for this official visit. I’m talking to them more.”

Kinney was among the 30-plus players out in Colorado Springs earlier this month for the USA Basketball U19 Training Camp. Although he missed out on the first cut, it was valuable experience, especially with Pope serving as an on-court assistant. Over the last several weeks, Kinney has stood out at the Adidas Eurocamp in Italy and the NBPA Top 100 Camp, even making the All-Camp Team in the latter event.

Along with the likes of Kentucky, Louisville, Purdue, and Oregon, Kinney is also hearing from Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Indiana, UConn, Cincinnati, and Xavier, among others. Of note, he recently signed a partnership deal with adidas. Louisville is an adidas program, while Kentucky is sponsored by Nike. That’s something to keep an eye on, but not an obstacle the ‘Cats can’t overcome if they plan to win this recruitment.

“It’s going to be where I’m most comfortable,” Kinney said. “It’s where I feel I can go in there and they put the ball in my hands as a freshman and I’m able to go out and perform my best to get to the next level.”

During the 2024-25 season at Overtime Elite, Kinney averaged 20.1 points, five assists, four rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game for OTE this past season. He shot 55.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three.

A list cut is coming soon for Kinney, who expects to make a college decision before he begins his senior season of high school this fall. Kentucky will roll out the Blue Carpet this week for the homegrown prospect.

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