Louisville basketball made it clear over the weekend that their No. 1 target in the 2026 cycle is Tyran Stokes. The Cardinals appeared to be at multiple games of the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit while he competed at the Adidas 3SSB Palmetto Road Championship.

However, outside of Stokes, a name that is becoming Kelsey’s No. 2 target in the 2026 cycle is Taylen Kinney, a native of Newport, Kentucky. The Cardinals are all-in on the elite guard after Kinney had a “great” official visit earlier in June.  

However, Louisville appears to be in an SEC battle for Kinney as some elite competition and a familiar enemy just entered the race for the 6-foot-2 point guard.

Related: Louisville basketball jumps Kentucky for 5-star PG in massive recruiting twist

Louisville basketball in danger of losing top 2026 recruiting target to SEC giant

According to Joe Tipton of On3/Rivals, Kinney has now scheduled an official visit with John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Razorbacks made their offer to Kinney back in August 2024 and now has an official visit lined up to meet Calipari on September 26.

He has already visited the Cardinals back on June 5 and has also made official visits to Purdue on January 20 and Kentucky on June 24. In addition to his visit to Arkansas, he will also visit Indiana on August 29, Oregon on September 6, and Texas on September 12.

The Cardinals are considered the favorites to land Kinney’s commitment, but these official visits to big-time programs should have Kelsey on alert. Coach Cal will always be a threat to Louisville for 5-star recruits, as he has been recognized as one of the best coaches in college basketball history and is highly skilled at developing college players into NBA superstars.  

Kinney visiting these national brand schools and blue-blood programs is not a great sign for Louisville, but it doesn’t mean they are out of the race. Tipton reported that Arkansas is emerging as a legitimate contender, and Kelsey must continue to go all-in on Kinney.

If the Cardinals can win Kinney’s commitment, it would be a massive first domino to fall their way, and could lead to players like Stokes and other 5-stars to commit. It is reported that Kinney plans to announce his commitment sometime before fall.

Kinney has earned over 29 offers, and Louisville must pay what it takes to bring him to the Cardinals. Kinney ranks as the No. 1 point guard in the 2026 cycle and ranks as high as No. 11 in the nation.

However, with programs like Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oregon, and others earning official visits from Kinney, it is clear the 5-star guard is going to be worth even more money than Kelsey thought. Louisville is hoping to land Stokes, as they are the favorites, but with Kinney taking more official visits, it may become clear that it will be challenging to secure both recruits’ commitments and meet their financial obligations.

Related: 2 Dream, 2 reach, 2 realistic 2026 5-star targets Louisville basketball could land

For all the latest on Louisville basketball’s offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) 2025 is set to tip off this Friday July 18th, and once again should be an exciting dose of basketball in the dog days of summer. Since it first began in 2014, TBT has quickly grown into one of the premier basketball events of the offseason. This year’s event will feature 61 teams competing in a single-elimination bracket, with a $1 million winner-take-all prize.

While TBT features a mix of current and former professional players, the event is deeply rooted in, and has really grown because of its strong ties to the college basketball world. Many of the participating teams are college alumni squads, made up of former players from their programs. With its single-elimination format and rosters full of familiar faces from the college basketball world, TBT is the perfect offseason remedy for college hoops fans.

Elam Ending Format

The tournament will once again feature the Elam Ending, which is a unique format that has gained traction since it was first used in TBT in 2017. Since then, it has been adopted in events such as the NBA All-Star Game, NBA G League, and Unrivaled. 

Under the Elam Ending rules in TBT, the game clock is turned off at the first stoppage at or under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. At this point, a target score is set that is 8 points more than the leading team’s score (e.g. If score is 78-72, Target Score = 86, first team to 86 points wins). Under this format, every contest ends on a “game winner” and it eliminates the long, drawn-out foul and free throw fest that can take place near the end of games, a part of college basketball that has become highly criticized as of late. 

College Hoops Connection

Now, assuming you’re here because you love college hoops, here are the teams with college basketball affiliations competing in TBT 2025.

• Aftershocks (Wichita State)
• All Good Dawgs (Butler)
• Assembly Ball (Indiana)
• Austin’s Own (Texas)
• Best Virginia (West Virginia)
• Boeheim’s Army (Syracuse)
• Carmen’s Crew (Ohio State)
• Court Street Kings (Ohio)
• Dunkin’ Dogs (Louisiana Tech)
• Forever Coogs (Houston)
• Founding Fathers (James Madison)
• Green Mountain Men (Vermont)
• Happy Valley Hoopers (Penn State)
• Herd That (Marshall)
• JHX Hoops (Kansas)
• La Familia (Kentucky)
• Purple Reign (Kansas State)
• Shell Shock (Maryland)
• Shield 219 (Valparaiso)
• Stars of Storrs (UConn)
• Srtroh’s Squad (Bowling Green)
• The Ville (Louisville)
• War Ready (Auburn)
• We Are D3 (Division III Players)

Full 61 team field here

Host Sites

This year’s field is divided into eight regions, each hosted by a college alumni squad. All regional hosts will have home-court advantage throughout the entire tournament.

• Indianapolis (Butler/Indiana) – Hinkle Fieldhouse
• James Madison (James Madison) – Atlantic Union Bank Center
• Kansas City (Kansas/Kansas State) – Municipal Auditorium
• Lexington (Kentucky) – Memorial Coliseum
• Louisville (Louisville) – Freedom Hall
• Syracuse (Syracuse) – SRC Arena
• West Virginia (West Virginia/Marshall) – Charleston Coliseum
• Wichita (Wichita State) – Charles Koch Arena

Schedule

First-round games will tip off Friday and Saturday (7/18–7/19). Following rounds will take place over the next two weeks, with the championship game scheduled for August 3rd.

• First Round: 7/18-19
• Second Round: 7/20-21
• Round of 16: 7/22-23
• Quarterfinals: 7/27-28
• Semifinals: 7/31
• Championship: 8/3

Select games will be broadcast on FOX, FS1, and FS2, while most of the action will be available to watch on YouTube.

Players’ associations for the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL and MLS issued a joint statement Monday urging Congress to reject proposed legislation that would grant the NCAA and its members an antitrust exemption to address NIL issues.

The statement was in response to the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, introduced last week by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. A markup on the bill is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

In their letter, the players’ associations warned that an antitrust exemption would permit the NCAA and its members to “collude to harm athletes.”

“Whatever progress the athletes have made has been a result of their use of the antitrust laws,” they wrote. “The SCORE Act would take that weapon away from them.”

The proposed legislation from seven Republican and two Democratic sponsors prevents athletes from obtaining employment status and mirrors many of the terms from the recent House vs. NCAA settlement. It would officially end most administrative restrictions on athletes’ NIL compensation, but it allows schools and conferences to establish what is and isn’t permissible. Should the federal legislation pass, it would override current state NIL laws, which vary from state to state.

Earlier Monday, two members of Congress from the state of Washington, Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Republican Rep. Michael Baumgartner, issued a similar statement urging the House committee to delay the markup until there are significant changes.

“The bill appears to be a product of the richest conferences to cement into place the current power structure in college athletics that would leave only the wealthiest schools able to compete at the highest levels of college athletics,” the statement said.

If you thought the dissolution of the Pac-12 was a heist, the SCORE Act is the National Championship of all heists. This legislation is a power grab by the two biggest conferences that will leave athletes, coaches, and small and mid-sized institutions behind. My letter with… pic.twitter.com/qVX11z2h1y

— Sen. Maria Cantwell (@SenatorCantwell) July 14, 2025

All of the Power 5 conferences previously issued a statement endorsing the SCORE Act.

“In the absence of federal standards, student-athletes and schools have been forced to navigate a fractured regulatory framework for too long,” they wrote. “Following the historic House settlement, this bill represents a very encouraging step toward delivering the national clarity and accountability that college athletics desperately needs.”

Last week, the NCAA said in a statement that it “has made long overdue changes, mandating health and wellness benefits and ushering in a new system for Division I programs to provide up to 50 percent of athletic department revenue to student-athletes, but some of the most important changes can only come from Congress.”

“This bill reflects many student-athletes’ priorities, and the NCAA is committed to working with Congress to build a bipartisan path forward that ensures the long-term success of college sports and the ongoing opportunities they provide to young people,” wrote Tim Buckley, the NCAA’s senior vice president of external affairs.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey also praised the bill Monday.

“I think what’s happening in college athletics is a nonpartisan issue, but using the typical nomenclature, to have members of both of our major political parties willing to step out and introduce the SCORE Act, is a positive step,” he said.

The players’ associations’ letter noted that only two industries in the United States have antitrust law exemptions: railroads and Major League Baseball (partially).