By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
When classes resume at Newport High School in two weeks, anyone who asks Taylen Kinney what he did during summer vacation should be impressed by his basketball odyssey.
Over the last three months, Kinney visited Italy and several cities in the United States to take part in events for premier high school basketball players, and he still has one trip remaining. On Saturday, the 6-foot-2 point guard will play in the Under Armour Next Elite 24 boys basketball game in Brooklyn, N.Y.
In an online interview during the adidas All-American Camp in July, Kinney was asked about his busy summer of basketball.
“It’s really a blessing,” he said. “A great experience traveling all across the country and competing against top guys, meeting NBA coaches and NBA players and all that.”
Past participants in the Elite Next 24 have gone on to have successful careers in college and the NBA.
This year, the game that usually features the nation’s top 24 players will include six elite players from Europe and one from Mexico. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. Saturday and will air on ESPNU.
Kinney spent the first three days of June at the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy, and then went to the USA Basketball under-17 national team tryouts in Colorado Springs.
During the month of July, he played in elite camps and leagues attended by college coaches and several of them were impressed with his point guard abilities. The teams that have offered him scholarships this summer include Kansas, Michigan, LSU, Oregon, Villanova, Florida State, Arkansas, Arizona State and Missouri.
He added those to a list that already included Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia, Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State, Illinois, Indiana, Rutgers, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, Xavier and Dayton.
Last season, Kinney averaged 17.5 points and four rebounds for a 32-4 Newport team that won a second consecutive 9th Region championship. He saw limited action in the region final and state tournament game due to a strained hamstring muscle, but he recovered nicely for his busy summer schedule.
Highlands baseball coach resigns after making
team perennial contender for 9th Region title
Jeremy Baioni, the most successful coach in the history of the Highlands baseball program, has resigned after leading the Bluebirds to four consecutive 9th Region championships and two state runner-up trophies in 15 seasons.
The Bluebirds won more than 300 games under Baioni. He became head coach in 2009 and took teams to the 9th Region tournament every year from 2012 to 2024, not counting the 2020 season that was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Highlands was 9th Region runner-up in 2012 and 2014, won four consecutive region titles from 2015 to 2018 and lost in the 2019 and 2023 region finals. Baioni’s state runner-up teams were in 2015 and 2018.
The top pitcher on the 2018 team was senior Drew Rom. He was named Mr. Kentucky Baseball that year and selected in the Major League Baseball draft. He made his big league debut last season with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The only coach who won more consecutive 9th Region baseball titles than Baioni was Jim Connor, who had seven in a row with Newport Catholic teams from 1948 to 1954. Beechwood coach Kevin Gray also won four in a row from 2019 to 2023 when the 2020 season was cancelled.
Walton-Verona graduate selected in MLB draft
signs hefty contract with Milwaukee Brewers
Walton-Verona graduate Travis Smith has reportedly signed a contract worth $462,500 to join the Milwaukee Brewers baseball organization, according to a post on the mlb.com website.
The right-handed pitcher was drafted in the 15th round of the Major League Baseball draft in July. He played for the University of Kentucky the last two seasons and planned to transfer to Mississippi State before signing with the Brewers.
Smith’s college career was delayed after he had heart surgery and Tommy John surgery in 2021. As a starting pitcher for UK in 2023, he went 4-3 with a 4.84 ERA in 13 starts.
This year, Smith started six games for the Wildcats before becoming a relief pitcher. Seven of his next eight appearances came out of the bullpen and he finished with a 3-4 record, 6.21 ERA and 33 strikeout in 37.2 innings.
Smith earned first team all-state honors after his senior season at Walton-Verona in 2021. He began having problems with his pitching arm early in the season, but he continued playing as a first baseman. In 32 games, he had a team-high .416 batting average to go along with a 4-2 pitching record and 3.14 ERA. He had 78 strikeouts in 35.2 innings and gave up only 19 hits.