Louisville basketball has recently discovered that it is in a major recruiting battle for 5-star point guard Ikenna Alozie, following the Cardinals' inclusion in his top eight. Louisville is also currently given the best chances to land the fourth-best point guard in the 2026 cycle, Deron Rippey Jr., making it clear that Louisville is emerging as a PGU.
Well, Louisville is trending for multiple other 5 stars in the 2026 cycle outside of Rippey and Alozie, but a name that keeps drawing a lot of attention is 5-star Tay Kinney. The Kentucky native is ranked as high as the No. 1 point guard in the class, the best player out of Georgia, and No. 11 in the nation, per 247Sports.
Recently, On3Sports' Joe Tipton wrote about the recruiting battle for Kinney, and it's no surprise that it's between Louisville and Kentucky. However, Kinney recently visited the Wildcats this week, and Tipton reported that, as of now, despite Kinney's visit to Kentucky, he sees the 5-star point guard wearing red and black rather than blue and white.
Related: Louisville basketball is the frontrunner for 5-star PG - but there’s a major twist
Louisville basketball jumps Kentucky for 5-star PG in massive recruiting twist
The Cardinals appear to have two players circled in the 2026 cycle, including 5-star and the nation's No. 1 overall player, Tyran Stokes, and Kinney, a Newport, Ky., native. Stokes was born and raised in Louisville, sparking fans' dreams of this Kentucky duo playing together for Pat Kelsey at the University of Louisville.
After Kentucky earned a visit from Kinney, it appeared On3 Sports thought the Wildcats had a significant lead on Louisville, as they gave Kentucky a substantial bump from their 25.8 percent chance of earning his commitment to 37.2 percent. They also dropped Louisville's chances from 22.6 percent down to 18.8 percent.
However, Tipton thinks much differently, and in his recent article, he actually gave the edge to the Cardinals over Kentucky despite the recent visit.
“As of right now, I would currently give Louisville the edge in his recruitment," stated Tipton. "He did visit Kentucky this week so it’ll be interesting to see if Mark Pope was able to make up ground. I still think UK is a very real player,”
It was known that a massive recruiting battle was underway between Mark Pope and Kelsey for the top point guard in the 2026 cycle. However, Tipton reporting that he thinks Louisville has the edge over Kentucky is a massive curveball, one that favors the Cardinals, but was not expected at this point in the recruiting process. The Louisville fans are jumping for joy right now after this report, but it's a significant twist, as Tipton is the first to report the Cardinals as the favorite.
The Cardinals earned a visit from Kinney back on June 5, and that visit went exceptionally well, as the most prominent college basketball recruiting reporter now gives Louisville the edge over their in-state rival following Kentucky's visit just this week.
"They just told me that I was their guy," Kinney stated, according to Demling's report. "I fit perfectly into their system, and there's no other school that I fit better into than them."
Kinney had an impressive stat sheet last season, averaging 20.1 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. He also played for the Wildcat Select in the Adidas 3SSB, averaging 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.
Louisville is waiting to earn its first commitment in the 2026 cycle, and if Kinney is the first one to commit, the dominoes will begin to fall their way. The Cardinals appear to be closing in on a massive 5-star target of theirs, and if the Cardinals can steal this Kentucky phenom away from the Wildcats, it would prove that Kelsey and Louisville are emerging as the No. 1 basketball school in the state of Kentucky.
Related: 2 Dream, 2 reach, 2 realistic 2026 5-star targets Louisville basketball could land
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.