Taylen Kinney

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Taylen Kinney
No. 0 – Kansas Jayhawks
PositionPoint guard
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Personal information
Born (2008-01-19) January 19, 2008
Newport, Kentucky, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeKansas (2026–present)
Career highlights
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA Under-18 AmeriCup
Silver medal – second place2026 MexicoTeam

Taylen Kinney (born January 19, 2008), nicknamed "TK", is an American college basketball player for the Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12 Conference. He played high school basketball for Rod Wave Elite of the Overtime Elite basketball league.

Early career

High school career

After middle school, Kinney enrolled and played for Newport High School in Newport, Kentucky. He spent three varsity seasons with the school before transferring, during his time at the high school, he averaged 17.5 points in the 23–24 season,[1] 17.2 in the 22–23 season,[2] and 11.5 in the 21–22 season.[3] Kinney totaled 1,220 points over those three campaigns and sought notable success with his team, Kinney was an all-state performer for the Wildcats and led the school to appearances in the Sweet 16 state tournament in 2023 and 2024. Newport also won the small-school All “A” Classic state championship in 2024 with Kinney.[4]

Kinney played for Newport High School until April 2024, when he announced that he was committed to play on Overtime Elite for the rest of his high school career.[5]

Overtime Elite (RWE)

Kinney plays for Overtime Elite, where he plays on Rod Wave Elite (RWE). In 20 regular-season OTE games in the 24–25 season, Kinney averaged 20.1 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals.[6][7]

Kansas Jayhawks

He committed to the Kansas Jayhawks on September 28, 2025. [8][9][10] At the time, Kinney was the first ranked point guard in the class of 2026, and the 13th overall ranked player within the class.[11][12] He finished ranked 19th by 247Sports, 20th by ESPN, and 25th by Rivals (the lone four-star grade).[13]

Personal life

Taylen Kinney was born on January 19, 2008, in Newport, Kentucky. He attended Southgate Public School for middle school, where he first started playing basketball for the Southgate Lions. Upon graduating 8th grade at Southgate, he attended Newport High School.

His grandfather owns River Front Pizza in Covington, Kentucky.[14] Outside of basketball, Kinney is known for popularizing the “6-7 meme”, which led to the creation of his own canned water brand on June 7, 2025, dubbed "67 Water".[15][16][17]

References

  1. Report, Staff (August 19, 2024). "Newport's Taylen Kinney to join Overtime Elite". LINK nky. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  2. "Taylen Kinney's High School Basketball Stats". www.maxpreps.com. June 13, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  3. "Taylen Kinney's High School Basketball Stats". www.maxpreps.com. March 5, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  4. "Star basketball recruit Taylen Kinney commits to a blue …". Yahoo Sports. September 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  5. Report, Staff (August 19, 2024). "Newport's Taylen Kinney to join Overtime Elite". LINK nky. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  6. "Taylen Kinney". Overtime Elite. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  7. Schnell, Lindsay (September 12, 2025). "What is '6-7′? It started with this high school basketball and social media star". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  8. McGavic, Matthew (September 28, 2025). "Elite '26 PG, Louisville Target Taylen Kinney Announces Collegiate Decision". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  9. Greenstein, Henry (September 28, 2025). "Kinney announces commitment to KU's class of 2026". KU Sports. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  10. "Kansas Basketball Lands Commitment from 5-Star PG Taylen Kinney". Kansas Jayhawks On SI. September 28, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  11. Borzello, Jeff (September 28, 2025). "Taylen Kinney, No. 17 basketball recruit, commits to Kansas". ESPN. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  12. Cobb, David (September 28, 2025). "Kansas basketball recruiting: Five-star PG Taylen Kinney commits to Jayhawks live on CBS Sports HQ". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  13. "Tay Kinney Recruiting Profile". On3.com.
  14. Schnell, Lindsay (September 12, 2025). "What is '6-7′? It started with this high school basketball and social media star". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  15. "Taylen Kinney commits to Kansas, 69 Water brand, Indiana basketball recruiting". Indianapolis Star. September 28, 2025. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  16. 67 Water (September 28, 2025). "TK COMMITTED. GO COP NEW 6 7 WATER LINK IN BIO". Instagram. Retrieved September 28, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. "6 7 Water—You Hackin' Family". 67 Water. Retrieved September 28, 2025.