Tay Kinney rocks Kentucky blue on visit while Mark Pope plays with little brother

By now you may have heard the big news, 2026 four-star guard and Newport native Tay Kinney picking up an offer from Mark Pope and the home-state Kentucky Wildcats. It’s a big day for the local talent who has exploded as a top-35 prospect nationally following a standout summer on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. He took an unofficial visit to Lexington on Wednesday with his family and left with a scholarship in hand.

“It was just a regular visit. I talked to Coach Pope for like an hour and watched a little bit of film with him,” Kinney told KSR’s Zack Geoghegan. “I was with the whole coaching staff, we watched film together.”

Kentucky joins the likes of Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Villanova and Michigan to extend an offer to the nation’s No. 33 overall recruit and No. 6 point guard in 2026, according to On3’s Industry Ranking. He previously told KSR he had high hopes for the Wildcats under Pope while also raving about the staff’s push for in-state talent.

“They’re going to be pretty good this year, new coach and new coaching staff with a bunch of good players,” Kinney told KSR. “Travis Perry and Trent Noah, we played them both last year, so I think they’re going to be pretty good. … I think that’s pretty cool because these Kentucky kids can go show all these other teams all over the country that we can hoop too.”

Now he’s got the offer from the in-state school to prove he’s firmly included in that group of top hoopers from the area. But the trip wasn’t limited to a sitdown meeting for a scholarship and film review, the 6-2 guard also participated in a photoshoot with Pope and his family. The Kentucky head coach was also seen goofing off with Kinney’s younger brother, who was sporting a white UK jersey.

Come for pictures of Tay Kinney rocking Kentucky blue, stay for Mark Pope playing with the top-35 recruit’s little brother 😹💙

The Newport native received an offer from the Cats on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/qkCfYHv8zc

— KSR (@KSRonX) August 21, 2024

We also got a look at the man of the hour himself rocking Kentucky blue and white, as well.

I don’t know about you, but the four-star guard looks like he belongs in that jersey for the long haul.

Now with an offer from Pope, the ball is in his court to decide if Kentucky will be his permanent home.

Come for pictures of Tay Kinney rocking Kentucky blue, stay for Mark Pope playing with the top-35 recruit’s little brother 😹💙

The Newport native received an offer from the Cats on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/qkCfYHv8zc

— KSR (@KSRonX) August 21, 2024