Louisville basketball received a crucial update from one of their top 2026 targets as 5-star point guard and Kentucky native Taylen Kinney cut his list down to 12 schools, per On3 Sports/Rivals Joe Tipton. The Cardinals have been one of the top schools trending for Kinney and are emerging as the favorite to land Kinney.
Pat Kelsey and his staff are making it clear that they want Kinney badly and that they are all-in on the No. 1 point guard in the 2026 class. Even though many Louisville fans assumed they would be on this list, it is still a significant update, as he received over 29 offers and will now pick from his final 12.
Louisville will now be in a recruiting battle with Arkansas, Auburn, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, Oregon, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas and Xavier. The biggest programs not included on the list are Alabama, Notre Dame, Illinois, and the Cardinals' historic rival, the Cincinnati Bearcats.
NEWS: 5⭐️ Tay Kinney is down to 12 schools, source tells @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) July 22, 2025
The 6-2 rising senior is one of the top point guards in the country. https://t.co/OlCaBZUirS pic.twitter.com/9yMcl6P9Lj
Kinney recently took an official visit to Louisville back on June 5 and has since been vocal about how Kelsey wants Kinney to be their point guard and "their guy."
Related: Louisville makes Taylen Kinney priority one as decision between two 5-stars looms
Louisville basketball makes 5-star Taylen Kinney's top 12
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound is ranked as high as a 5-star recruit, the No. 11 player in the 2026 cycle, and the best point guard in the class. Last year, the Kentucky native played for RWE, where he averaged 20.1 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game. However, before that, he attended Newport High School and quickly emerged as one of the top Kentucky recruits.
The Kentucky native averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 41.4 percent from beyond the arc in his sophomore campaign. He has now quickly emerged as one of Kelsey's top targets and a player he must earn a commitment from.
Louisville was reported as the favorite to land his commitment from On3 Sports/Rivals Joe Tipton earlier this summer. Tipton and On3 Sports view this as a Mark Pope and Kelsey dual as the Cardinals and the Kentucky Wildcats are the two heavy favorites to earn his commitment.
The 5-star point guard has visited Purdue and Kentucky already and will make visits to Arkansas, Oregon, and Texas in the next couple of months.
The Cardinals took a big step in the right direction Tuesday evening, finding out they made his top 12. It was a crucial first step for Kelsey and his staff for one of their top targets, and now they must keep the pedal to the medal and try to earn his commitment over their in-state rival, the Kentucky Wildcats.
Related: 3 realistic commitments that would make Louisville’s 2026 class perfect
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.