Tay Kinney talks Kentucky visit, adidas partnership, and decision timeline

Tay Kinney isn’t too far away from making a college decision.

At the adidas 3SSB Championships in Rock Hill, SC, Kinney, a popular figure on the adidas circuit, spoke with a group of reporters Thursday to update his recruitment. The Bluegrass native is coming off an official visit to Kentucky, which he took near the end of June. Kinney sat in on a summer practice session, spent time at Mark Pope‘s house, and hung around the current team.

“Really good visit,” Kinney told KSR. “The team this year, the way they was practicing, the way they play, that really stood out.”

“They get up and down, they let the guards hoop, you know?” he added.

Like with most talented point guards, Kinney is attracted to the Wildcats’ fast-paced play style. He and Pope sat down for a film breakdown (a common theme for recruits on official visits to UK) to discuss what Kinney does well and what skills he still needs to develop.

“Improving on taking extra dribbles,” Kinney said. “(Pope) says I’ll get way more paint touches if I get extra dribbles. He likes that I’m already splitting ball screens, playing the ball screen well.”

As he makes his way through the AAU season for Wildcat Select, Kinney is beginning to wind down his recruitment. Along with Kentucky, he’s also officially visited Purdue and Louisville, with upcoming visits on the schedule to see Texas, Indiana, and Oregon. Louisville is pitching Kinney as the PG1 replacement for incoming freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr.

More visits might be on the way, too. Kinney says Arkansas and Kansas could still get him on campus. The Arkansas staff, now led by John Calipari, has a relationship with him that goes back to Calipari’s time in Lexington.

“It’s pretty self-explanatory,” Kinney said of Calipari. “You can just look at his background, all the players he’s sent to the league, all the guards he’s coached.”

The plan as of now is to narrow his list of top schools once his official visits are wrapped up. A decision will come before the 2025-26 Overtime Elite (where he’ll play as a senior) season begins this fall. Kinney adds that, despite being signed to adidas and playing for an adidas AAU program, he’s not automatically guaranteed to go to an adidas school. He mentioned that his current partnership with adidas ends after his final high school season.

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