Two of the top recruits in the class of 2026 just happen to be Bluegrass natives.
Tyran Stokes, a Louisville native, is the consensus top recruit and a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.
Tay Kinney, meanwhile, is a Newport product who is currently 247 Sports' top point guard in 2026 and is ranked 11th overall.
So, will the Kentucky Wildcats
be able to land one or both prospects?It looks like there’s a chance at one, but both seem unlikely.
Throughout the summer, the Louisville Cardinals
have gotten the most buzz when it comes to Kinney. A big part of that is Kinney currently has a high school NIL deal with Adidas, and Louisville is one of the biggest Adidas schools.
While the deal isn’t for college quite yet, many prospects in his situation end up signing with the same brand in college. That was the case this past cycle with Darryn Peterson before he committed to the Kansas Jayhawks.
On3’s Joe Tipton reports that Louisville continues to get buzz with Kinney, though he does still have several visits coming up before planning to make a decision before his senior season.
“There has been a lot of buzz around Louisville as of late, but Kinney has several more visits to go on before making a decision,” Tipton wrote.
The news is much better regarding Stokes.
“At Peach Jam last week, there was a lot of talk around Kentucky for Stokes. I’m not ready to call the Wildcats the favorite yet, but it definitely has my antennas up,” Tipton wrote.
This comes after fellow On3 reporter Jamie Shaw recently said that he believes Kentucky and Arkansas are gaining the most traction in this recruitment.
It’s worth noting that Stokes currently has a high school NIL deal with Nike, and UK is about to get a huge contract extension with them.
Stokes hopes to make a college decision before his senior season, so the next few months will be crucial in securing a signature from arguably the best player in high school basketball.
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