Louisville basketball and Kentucky both recently whiffed on 5-star point guard and in-state superstar, Taylen Kinney. The nation's No. 1 point guard ranks as high as No. 13 in the country, and despite being raised in Newport, Kentucky, both fans heavily recruiting him, and Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey getting in a "UFC fight" over him, Kinney committed to the Kansas Jayhawks this past Sunday.
With both in-state schools striking out on Kinney, their next point guard target in the 2026 class is crystal clear, and now the two rival schools are expected to pick it up a notch for one of the top rising stars in the 2026 cycle, Deron Rippey Jr.
Louisville has made it clear that they want him to be a Cardinal, but with Kentucky earning an official visit after Kinney didn't commit to the Wildcats, the Cardinals must move quickly and make a move of their own if they want to stay in the recruiting race.
Related: 3 Massive reactions to 5-star Taylen Kinney committing to Kansas over Louisville
Louisville basketball must go all-in on 5-star Deron Rippey Jr.
Recently, both Louisville and Kentucky learned they made Rippey's top 10, as they are in a recruiting battle with ACC giants Syracuse, North Carolina, Miami, North Carolina State, and Duke, with the other three teams being top 10 SEC powerhouses Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas.
Recently, Rippey took an official visit to Syracuse, which is near the top of his list, given that he is a New Jersey native. However, after canceling his visit to Kentucky, the 5-star guard rescheduled the visit for October 6 through October 8.
2026 5⭐️ Deron Rippey Jr (@rippey_deron) has rescheduled his Kentucky visit for 10/6-10/8 his father tells me! pic.twitter.com/go4rPK1QFg
— HS Top Recruits (@HSTopRecruiting) September 29, 2025
Duke and Kentucky made in-house visits earlier in September, but while Louisville was all-in on Kinney, they may have fallen behind in this crucial race. Louisville was once a frontrunner, as they took a visit to a practice back in April and earned an official gameday visit for the Cardinals' showdown with Tennessee.
On3 Sports now gives Louisville the third-best chances of landing his commitment, with Syracuse and Duke above them, and Kentucky right on their tail. After striking out on Kinney, it is clear Tyran Stokes and Colben Landrew are the Cardinals' top two choices, but a dream option would be Rippey.
The 5-star point guard is the perfect replacement for Mikel Brown Jr. as he has won multiple MVP awards this offseason and ranks as high as No. 1 in the point guard position and No. 11 in the nation, per 247 Sports. Louisville has an uphill battle to beat out these ACC and SEC giants, but with Kentucky earning a visit, Kelsey and the Cardinals must make a move sooner rather than later if they want back in the race.
Related: Louisville basketball jumps Kansas and Indiana after crucial update from 5-star PG
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.