We have entered the time of the year when basketball recruiting madness has officially begun. With the Jayhawks being at the forefront of collegiate basketball, a number of elite prospects have been considering this revamped Kansas Jayhawk team, which has expectations to return to the top of the basketball food chain.
The recruit who has topped the charts of nearly every Kansas basketball fan in the 2026 class is five-star guard Taylen Kinney.
Last week, thanks to Jayhawk Slant, we reported how Kinney may have had his head turned by the Jayhawks. And while nothing is official, speculation is continuing to grow over the future of Kinney.
On On3’s page on Kinney, the Recruiting Prediction Machine has heavily favored Kinney’s commitment to Kansas. As it stands, Kinney is linked with a 71.9% chance of snagging the young talent, as Kentucky follows with a 7.1% chance, followed by Louisville at 3.5%.
Kinney is rated by On3 as the No.15 player in the nation, the No.3 point guard. 247Sports touts Kinney as the No.13 player in the nation and the No.1 point guard in the nation. The 247Sports Composite ranks Kinney as the No.17 player in the land and as the No.2 point guard, with all three leaning towards Kinney as the No.1 player in the state of Georgia.
On3’s Joe Tipton detailed his prediction hours ago, and we recommend you give it a look at what may have caused the flip.
Kinney is currently playing for Overtime Elite, the same team whose 2025 roster is currently laden with nine four stars who are across the 2026-28 classes.
Earlier today, Tipton announced Kinney’s imminent announcement.
NEWS: 2026 Top-15 recruit Tay Kinney will announce his college commitment on September 28th, a source tells @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) September 11, 2025
The 6-3 point guard updates his recruitment as he narrows in on a decision: https://t.co/LzmvGlEpUf pic.twitter.com/3p6pq4auo2
This would be Kansas’ (like most other power programs) first recruit in the class, so making a mark the size of Kinney would be massive for a program that has taken a step back in terms of recent pedigree, as the Jayhawks are 72-32 since their most recent NCAA National Championship title in 2022. While for most other teams in America, this would be a great, if not phenomenal, record. The Jayhawks have opened the door for Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars to join the fray, and since Houston’s arrival in the Big 12 in the 2023-24 season, Houston has claimed back-to-back regular-season titles, along with last year’s Big 12 Conference Tournament title.