Mark Pope did an excellent job in the 2025 recruiting class, landing five-stars Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno. Now Pope and the staff have moved their focus to the top talent in the 2026 class.

The coaching staff is casting a wide net when it comes to talent in this 2026 class, but one player Coach Pope needs to land is five-star point guard Tay Kinney.

The 6’2 composite five-star is a Newport, Kentucky native who currently plays for Overtime Elite in Atlanta. Last season Kinney played on the same team as Kentucky freshman Jasper Johnson which is a reason some believe the Wildcats are in a great position to land Kinney.

He has been on campus a handful of times since Coach Pope took over as the head coach of Kentucky, so there is a lot of smoke in the recruitment for the Wildcats.

According to On3’s prediction metrics, the Wildcats are in the lead to land Kinney with a 35% chance to land him. The school on the tail of the Wildcats is Purdue as On3 gives the Boilermakers a 30% chance to land the elite point guard.

The state of Kentucky has had a lot of elite talent over the last few recruiting cycles, and Coach Pope has done a great job making these players Wildcats. Big Blue Nation needs to hope this trend continues with Kinney as he looks to be one of the best players in the class.

Tay Kinney is a name for Kentucky fans to remember as recruiting heats up in the 2026 class.