4-star PG Tay Kinney racking up offers, expects to visit Kentucky soon

Tay Kinney isn’t an under-the-radar recruit by any means at this point, but he’s been one of the most eye-opening players at the adidas 3SSB Championship throughout the week. Leading Wildcat Select 16U, Kinney has already pulled in four new offers just since Friday: Villanova, Oregon, LSU, and Arizona State.

Ranked as the No. 33 overall recruit from the 2026 class by the On3 Industry Ranking, the 6-foot-3 point guard is quickly beginning to ramp up his recruitment. Among the teams interested? The Kentucky Wildcats. Assistant coach Jason Hart has been in touch the most while Cody Fueger sat courtside for multiple Wildcat Select games over the last two days.

“They talk to my coach,” Kinney told KSR about his communication with UK. “I’m supposed to go down to campus soon when I get back home. It’s only right up the street, so I can go there whenever.”

That’s the other thing: Kinney plays high school ball for Newport up in the northern region of the Commonwealth. Notably, Kinney and Newport took down Lyon County and current Kentucky freshman Travis Perry during the All “A” Classic this past season. It was one of just three losses for Lyon County en route to the Lyons ultimately winning the state championship.

With Kinney being a 2026 recruit and Kentucky’s staff still relatively new to the scene, the relationship is now beginning to blossom. The more the Wildcats reach out, the more he’ll continue to listen. Getting him on campus soon will be important. Kinney wants to play in a high-paced offense that gets the ball up and down with some speed. That lines up with Mark Pope‘s offensive philosophy.

“That’s always been an offer I’ve wanted,” Kinney said. “Kentucky is the school in Kentucky. You get that offer, you’re the guy in Kentucky.”

But as Kinney continues to make a name for himself on the recruiting scene, the more he’ll be pulled in other directions. Arkansas and John Calipari have recently jumped into the mix. He says that Purdue, Xavier, and Indiana are the schools he shares the most mutual interest with right now.

“I just like that they’re reaching out. Just building that relationship early,” Kinney said of those three programs. “All three of them was betting on me early. When I wasn’t the player I am today, they was still trying to contact me, get me on campus whenever.”

As a sophomore in 2023-24, Kinney was already considered one of the best players in the Bluegrass. He averaged 17.5 points and four rebounds per game for Newport while shooting 48.4 percent overall, 41.4 percent from long range, and 83.1 percent from the free throw line. Going into his junior season, the stock-rising floor general might just be the best.