By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Taylen Kinney, a former all-state basketball player at Newport High School, drew national attention Sunday when the five-star recruit made a commitment with the University of Kansas during a ceremony at the high school.
The nation’s top-ranked point guard in the 2026 graduating class, Kinney had narrowed his college choices to five other teams — Kentucky, Louisville, Indiana, Oregon and Arkansas — before picking Kansas, a four-time NCAA champion that has played in 35 consecutive tournaments.
Newport won back-to-back 9th Region boys basketball championships in 2023 and 2024 with Kinney as the Wildcats’ floor leader.
He left to attend Overtime Elite in Atlanta, a sports academy where players ages 16-20 continue their studies while competing in a higher level league to improve their basketball skills.
According to an article on espn.com, Kinney averaged 20.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists for RWE on the Overtime Elite circuit last season.
He then played on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, putting up 18.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists for Wildcat Select.
Last summer, Kinney was invited to the Adidas Eurocamp in Italy, USA Basketball under-17 tryouts in Colorado Springs and Under Armour Next Elite 24 boys basketball game in New York City.
As a result of that exposure, he received more than 30 scholarship offers from NCAA Division I teams across the country, even though he had two years of high school remaining.
During his sophomore season at Newport, Kinney averaged 17.5 points and four rebounds for the 32-4 Wildcats, who won a second consecutive 9th Region championship. He saw limited action in the team’s final two games due to a strained hamstring muscle.
As a freshman, Kinney averaged 13.9 points and 3.9 rebounds. Newport won its first 9th Region title since 2010 that season and finished with a 28.7 record.