A former Kentucky high school star, now at Overtime Elite, remains a UK recruiting target
Tay Kinney is now nearly a year removed from his time as a Kentucky high school basketball star.
Kinney — a 6-foot-1, 174-pound guard in the class of 2026 — was a standout underclassman at Newport High School in Northern Kentucky. Kinney led Newport to appearances in the Sweet 16 state tournament in both 2023 and 2024, and he also powered Newport to the small-school All “A” Classic state championship last season.
Then came an offseason of change, both on and off the floor.
Kinney chose to leave the commonwealth last summer for the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite (OTE) program, which has quickly become known for its 24-7 basketball environment and its ability to develop players for the college and professional levels.
The exposure provided by OTE — both through game broadcasts and a wide variety of accompanying social media content — also means Kinney is now something of a household name among those who monitor the prep basketball world.
And that has a lot to do with how well Kinney, a five-star recruit according to the 247Sports Composite, has played during his debut season at OTE.
Kinney — who turned 17 years old over the weekend — is sixth in the league in scoring at 21.3 points per game, fifth in assists at 5 per game and fifth in steals with 27 on the season. Kinney also ranks in the top 10 among OTE players in a number of other statistical categories, including total dunks (13), minutes per game (31.4), 2-point field goal shooting percentage (68.8%), overall field goal shooting percentage (59.8%) and plus-minus (plus-113).
This evidence supports Kinney’s rising stock as a top recruit in the current junior class.
In September, Kinney was ranked as a four-star recruit and as the No. 27 national prospect in the 2026 class. Now in late January, Kinney slots in as a five-star prospect who is ranked as the No. 19 player in the 2026 recruiting group.
“My biggest strides, really, have been in the weight room. Getting stronger, and really just playing with pace,” Kinney told the Herald-Leader this month at OTE’s facility in Atlanta.
“I’ve just been putting in a lot of work. Game-speed reps. So it’s just helping me translate (from practice) to the game.”
Kinney hasn’t had to look far for a mentor at the guard position at OTE, either. Kinney is teammates on the RWE team in the OTE league with Jasper Johnson, the five-star UK basketball signee who is one of three members of Kentucky’s 2025 recruiting class.
Johnson is also having a strong season as he finishes his prep basketball career in Atlanta. For the season, Johnson is averaging 20.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6 assists per game, to go along with 36.3% shooting on 3-pointers.
In previous interviews with the Herald-Leader, Johnson has credited the basketball-first environment at OTE with the strides he’s made in the months before he joins Mark Pope’s Kentucky program.
And the same is true for Kinney, who said he’s now focusing on his conditioning, mastering the pace of the game and playing off ball screens as the next steps in his basketball growth.
“I’m just more aggressive toward the rim. People can’t bump me off my spots, so I can get to the rim easier,” Kinney added. “... I just need one more thing, just work on my pace. (If I) get my pace better, I feel like my offensive game is there.”
After three seasons of Kentucky high school hoops — Kinney played varsity for Newport as an eighth grader — it was clear that Kinney had proven himself plenty on that stage. He was an all-state performer last season who averaged more than 17 points per game while shooting better than 41% on 3-pointers for Newport.
Now on a much bigger stage at OTE, Kinney’s individual development continues to blossom.
“It was hard at first, but I’m used to it now,” Kinney said of the daily routine at OTE. “I’m happy I made this decision to come down here. It’s a great experience. OTE is great.”
“He’s got a high ceiling,” Corey Frazier, who coaches Kinney’s RWE team, told the Herald-Leader about Kinney in September. “He’s going to be a tremendous point guard. He competes at a high level.”
Tay Kinney includes Kentucky basketball in top-15 recruiting list
Kinney’s progression as a high school player, unsurprisingly, has correlated with continued interest in him as a high school basketball recruit.
On Christmas Day, Kinney trimmed his list of colleges under consideration to 15 schools. The list in full: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Cincinnati, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame, Oregon, Purdue, Tennessee and Xavier.
“Those were the schools that showed interest in me all the time,” Kinney said. “... They consistently showed love. They show up to my games, texting me after games. Texting me all the time. Just checking in on me and my family.”
While that list remains long, there’s a strong amount of hometown flavor represented. A pair of Cincinnati schools and a pair of commonwealth schools both made the initial cut in Kinney’s recruitment.
“A team that fits my style of play and then a coaching staff that’s been with me and that feels like a family,” Kinney said when asked what he’s looking for from a college program.
UK offered Kinney a scholarship in August while he was on an unofficial visit to the school, which included time spent in a film session with UK coaches.
The Wildcats’ coaching staff also watched Kinney play last summer on the 16-and-under Adidas grassroots circuit, where Kinney averaged 26.8 points scored or created by assists per game.
A self-described “fast-paced point guard that plays both sides of the ball,” Kinney’s ball distribution and scoring skills would, theoretically, pair well with Pope’s style of play at Kentucky.
UK ranks second in the nation this season in adjusted offensive efficiency and 30th in the country in adjusted tempo, according to KenPom.
“I like how Pope has all new players at Kentucky, and he’s winning,” Kinney said. “He’s a winner. That’s what I’m doing. I’m winning. So, that’s why they made the list.”
MADE Hoops reported that Kinney began an official visit to Purdue, another one of his top-15 schools, on Monday.
