Taylen Kinney is one of the first names that comes to mind for North Carolina fans in the 2026 Class. The 6-foot-3 guard is legitimately one of the top rising seniors in the country, and after starring in Newport, KY, he transferred to Overtime Elite last year.
He was one of the best players in the league despite playing up a year. Kinney averaged 20.1 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals. He shot 55.6% from the floor, and 33.3% from deep.
He has had a similar type of impact on the Adidas 3SSB circuit with the Wildcat Select. He averaged 19.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists during the spring. He shot 54.4% overall, and 24.1% from deep.
Kinney has a plethora of offers, but it is getting to that point in his recruitment that a few schools are pushing the hardest and are sticking out. Just about all of the programs in that category are going going to get visits.
We found out more about that Monday night when his step father/trainer/AAU coach, Andrew Mitchell, spoke to Tar Heel Illustrated about his recruitment, and how how North Carolina fits into that among many other subjects.
THI: Tell us about Taylen’s game.
MITCHELL: “Tay’s an extremely, extremely high IQ guard that has good size. He shoots it. He has a good feel for the game. He’s pretty athletic. He defends at a high level. He’s really, really, really spent a lot of time focusing on the defensive end. He’s done a good job this spring with that. He’s just got to continue to show that he can play on both ends of the floor.”
THI: From watching games and looking at the box scores both in Overtime Elite and the Adidas 3SSB leagues, he may be the best two-point shooter in the country, and that’s not hyperbole. His percentages are phenomenal for a guard.
MITCHELL: “For sure, I think he’s just kind of fell in love with attacking at the rim, and trying different types of finishes. I wouldn’t say it’s taken away from his three-ball, because he’s always shot the three at an extremely high clip. Now that’s he’s starting to figure out that he finishes a lot better at the rim, I would like him to shoot more three’s. But he’s shooting at a high clip around the rim, and I’ve got to accept it.”
THI: Are there players you compare him to?
MITCHELL: “Yeah, I think his comparison is Tyrese Maxey. That is the NBA comparison he gets a lot, him and Darius Garland.”
THI: What are the comparisons between Tay Kinney and Tyrese Maxey?
MITCHELL: “I think just their size, physicality, being able to take bumps, not getting knocked off their spots. Tyrese plays hard. He can shoot it. He can get to the rim. He has sneaky athleticism. I don’t think Taylen’s is as sneaky. He’s pretty athletic off both legs. Just being able to be crafty, really good in the pick and roll, and just having a really good feel for the game.”
THI: I’ve always thought he had a little bit of Kyree Irving in him around the rim.
MITCHELL: “Yeah, I can see that as well around the rim.”
THI: Do you see him on the next level as on-ball, off-ball, or combo?
MITCHELL: “I think he’s on the ball. He can play off the ball as well, but I think he loves being on the ball. Once he gets it going and he’s scoring a little bit I think a lot of teams will use him off the ball some coming off down-screens, catching it, playing in the pick and roll once he gets in his groove a little bit. He can really score it, but he makes extremely good reads with the ball in his hands”
THI: Let’s talk about his recruitment right now.
MITCHELL: “It’s been good. He hears a lot from North Carolina, Kentucky, UCONN, Purdue, Oregon, Louisville, Texas, Arkansas. Those are the schools that keep up with him the most right now I would say.”
THI: He plays in the Overtime Elite League in Atlanta now, but he’s from Kentucky. Will it be hard to recruit him away from that state?
Mitchell: “No, I think he’s going to go wherever is the best fit for him. Obviously he’s looking for best things in schools. He wants to play right away as a freshman. He would love to play point guard, and have the ball in his hands, and be able to run a team, and lead a team as a freshman. He wants to go to a contender where he can go to an NCAA Tournament, and make a run at it. He wants to go to a situation where they have good players around. I believe wherever Tay ends up committing to, they will get some really good players in the ’26 class. He has a lot of friends in that class. A lot of people enjoy playing with him. He’s a good kid. He’s unselfish. He loves to win. He’s competitive. I think whoever gets him it will be an extremely good fit.”
THI: Has he set up any visits?
Mitchell: “He’s gotten three set up so far. He has the dates for two already, but we have one that we haven’t set the date for yet.”
THI: What are those?
Mitchell: “He has a visit to Louisville (official) this Thursday and Friday. He’s going to Oregon September 6 (official). He’s not set a date for Indiana yet. That will be an official whenever he decides to take it.”
THI: How many official visits would you like to do in all?
Mitchell: “He has already done one to Purdue. He wants to do ones to Oregon, Louisville, Kentucky, UCONN, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas.”
THI: Did Taylen grow up a fan of any certain team?
Mitchell: “Not really. I don’t think Tay spent a lot of time watching college basketball when he was younger. He was kind of into video games, and hanging out with his friends. He likes certain players. Now he is into the NBA, and watches a lot of NBA guys, but he never really grew up a certain fan.”
THI: How has North Carolina gone about recruiting Taylen, and what has been the message?
Mitchell: “Hubert Davis has been hitting him up a lot, just kind of letting him know he’s their type of guy. He talks to him about the history of North Carolina, the campus, how they do things, and how the guards have the ball in their hands a lot. That’s kind of the message they’ve been sending.”
THI: What do you think about Hubert Davis and his staff?
Mitchell: “I think they are a good staff. Obviously his first year there they went to a National Championship. They struggled last year. For the last couple of years they’ve kind of struggled, but I think they are definitely going to turn things around there.”
THI: Does Hubert’s personality differentiate from other coaches?
Mitchell: “I think all of them during the offseason are just like family guys. A lot of them are on the beach with their family, or they are at the lake house with their family. A lot of them are about family. Some of them don’t recruit during the season. They send their assistants out. Some of the coaches don’t deal with that stuff because they are so focused on the team that they have at that time. So talking with them in the offseason there is a lot more dialogue than there is during the season. I think Taylen spends a lot more time with the head coaches after the season is over. During the season he spends a lot of time speaking with the assistants.”
THI: Who is his lead recruiter at North Carolina?
Mitchell: “Hubert.”
THI: What does that say about a program when the head coach is the lead guy?
MITCHELL: “That means a lot. That means a lot because coaches are hitting him up nonstop. It shows a lot, because that is who you have to play for. The assistants are great. They roll with their players, but when that head guy is hitting you up and showing you love that means a lot.”
