Four-star guard Taylen Kinney 6’3 guard from Newport is now committed to Kentucky; announce by Mark Pope….
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope has to land this elite 2026 recruit
Mark Pope has to keep the home-grown talent in-state.
Coach Mark Pope and his coaching staff have identified some of the players in the 2026 class they are going to recruit and have extended offers. One of those players is four-star guard Taylen Kinney. He is a 6’3 guard from Newport, Kentucky, meaning the in-state talent continues to flow for Coach Pope.
The talent the state of Kentucky has produced over the last few years has been incredible. This includes Reed Sheppard, Travis Perry, Trent Noah, Malachi Moreno, Jasper Johnson, and now Kinney.
Coach Pope just landed the elite center Moreno in the 2025 class, and he will try and land Johnson next week. Keeping in-state talent within state lines is huge for this coaching staff, and in the 2026 class, they will look to do this with Kinney.
The good news for Coach Pope and his staff when it comes to Kinney is that they have a ton of time to build this relationship before he makes his college decision way down the road.
Kinney is a player quickly rising in the recruiting rankings, and it would not be a surprise to see him as a five-star when it is all said and done. He will play at some of the camps over the next year, which should boost his rankings.
Coach Pope can’t let Kinney slip away, so he needs to do everything in his power to make sure this elite guard plays his college hoops in Lexington, Kentucky. Once Kinney starts to set up official visits, this recruitment will clear up.
Kentucky basketball assistant coach posts hilarious video of Coach Pope after the Wildcats landed Malachi Moreno
Check out this hilarious video from Kentucky basketball’s assistant coach.
Former Kentucky basketball player and new head coach Mark Pope was animated during his announcement at Rupp Arena in Lexington Ky.
Former Kentucky basketball player and new head coach Mark Pope was animated during his announcement at Rupp Arena in Lexington Ky
The Kentucky Wildcats got a massive commitment on Friday as in-state center Malachi Moreno picked the Kentucky. Moreno is ranked as the number one center in On3’s rankings, and he is a perfect fit for Mark Pope’s system. Moreno is a true seven-footer, but he is also fluid with the basketball and can pass.
Landing elite recruits from inside state lines is huge for this Kentucky coaching staff, so knowing they were able to keep Moreno at home is massive. Coach Pope started recruiting Moreno the second he got the job, so he made the seven-footer a priority early, and it paid off.
After Moreno committed to Kentucky, assistant coach Alvin Brooks III posted a hilarious video where he edited a picture of Coach Pope over a person dunking and then falling through a fence.
This coaching staff seems to be really close, and this will help them build an elite culture in the Kentucky basketball program.
Let’s take a look at this video Coach Brooks III made of Coach Pope after the Wildcats landed their first recruit in the 2025 class.
Here is the scouting report on Moreno from Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports, “Moreno is a skilled big with significant size. He measures in at just a shade under seven-feet (6’10.5” without shoes), and while he doesn’t have much additional length (7’1” wingspan), he’s coordinated and balanced for his size, with a sturdy base. He has good hands, footwork, and keeps making consistent strides with both his physical strength
College basketball coaches believe Mark Pope was a home run hire for Kentucky
Is Mark Pope going to end up being a good hire for
Mark Pope exits the bus with holding a trophy as he enters Rupp Arena greeting thousands of fans for his introductory press conference on Sunday, April 14, 2024.
Mark Pope exits the bus with holding a trophy as he enters Rupp Arena greeting thousands of fans for his introductory press conference on Sunday, April 14, 2024. / Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
Kentucky hired Mark Pope this offseason to be the Wildcat’s new head coach, and so far, it seems to have been a home run hire.
Pope has put together an elite team full of veteran players that should be able to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. Pope also just landed his first recruit in the 2025 class, Malachi Moreno, who is the number one center in the class.
While at first, some Kentucky fans might have questioned the hire, those fans have turned around quickly, and things are looking up in Lexington.
Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander of CBS Sports asked 100 Division 1 coaches their thoughts on the new college basketball hires, and these coaches seem high on what Coach Pope brings to Lexington.
Here are two quotes Parrish and Norlander received from current D1 head basketball coaches about Kentucky’s hire of Pope.
“He’s not a guy that’s looking for a microphone every 10 minutes to state his case. He doesn’t make a lot of excuses. Basketball is what drives him.
Underrated recruiter, very good talent evaluator and knows how to stay ahead of the curve offensively and be impossible to guard in space. Uses his personnel like a surgeon. Everyone on the floor is really good at something and they’ll buy into that role.”
“I know this isn’t the guy Kentucky fans thought they were going to replace Cal with — but he’s already won them over. He’ll be super there. And he really is a brilliant offensive coach. So not only will he be good there, but they’ll be fun to watch. He might not dominate the recruiting rankings like Cal did because lots of schools are using NIL. But he’ll get good players and win
Hearing his peers sing the praises of Coach Pope should give Kentucky fans hope that this hire is going to end up being a grand slam. Coach Pope has won over Big Blue Nation and his 2024-25 roster is ready to prove to the world Kentucky basketball is back to hanging
Kentucky basketball fans aren’t talking enough about this freshman guard
This Kentucky player will have a bigger role than many imagine.
The Wildcats’ mascot played to the crowd during Kentucky basketball’s Blue-White scrimmage tipped off at Northern Kentucky University on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.
The Wildcats’ mascot played to the crowd during Kentucky basketball’s Blue-White scrimmage tipped off at Northern Kentucky University on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. / Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Kentucky Wildcats are getting ready for the 2024-25 off-season, and the player with the most to gain between now and the start of the year is Collin Chandler.
Chandler is set to be a freshman this season despite being on a two-year mission trip, meaning he is quite old for a freshman. This means that if he is a player who sticks around for a while, he will be older, which would be great for his play on the floor and leadership.
The Kentucky guard recently talked about the process he is going through to get back into basketball shape, and he calls it a ramp-up. In a recent interview, Chandler talked about how it is going well, and he is getting back to being himself on the floor.
Hearing from other players and coaches, they seem very impressed with Chandler’s play to this point.
The guard is a freak athlete, and he is going to play a role for the Wildcats this season. Some recent NBA Mock Drafts have Chandler going in the first round, so he is a player with that type of upside.
Chandler is going to play more of a role for Kentucky this season than many imagine, and he could be one of the most important pieces off the bench for Coach Pope.
Kentucky Athletics sent out this quote from Coach Pope about Chandler and who he is as a player and a person.
“Collin Chandler is one of the most talented high school players in the country.
He has a silky-smooth jumper, a slippery ability to get to the rim, an explosive burst, and the, most impressive of all, he has incredible processing speed as he reads space and time and makes plays on pure instinct. Collin is the definition of a servant leader.
He, on his own desire and expense, chose to leave basketball and his life to go and serve people in Africa and Europe for two years. It won’t take long for every Kentucky fan to feel his heart and his love for others. I absolutely cannot wait to coach a man and player like him.”
