How KU basketball freshman Taylen Kinney predicted his own Team USA future
Weeks before it happened, KU basketball freshman Taylen Kinney manifested his own future.
He told The Star he believed he would make the 2026 USA Basketball Men’s Under 18 Team. That dream became a reality Wednesday morning, when Kinney and 11 other players were officially announced as members of the squad.
Instead of arriving in Lawrence in a few days for summer practice, he will arrive in a few weeks. Team USA will depart for the 2026 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup. It’s scheduled for June 1-7 in Leon, Mexico.
“I’ve got the Team USA team tryouts so when — we are going to speak it into existence — I make the team, I will be late, because I’ll be getting to go to (Mexico),” Kinney previously told The Star.
Kinney averaged 18.8 points, 6.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game in his senior season at Overtime Elite. A native of Newport, Kentucky, Kinney will join KU as the No. 21 rated player in the class of 2026, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
He was one of two incoming Jayhawk freshmen aiming to make the final U18 squad. Incoming forward Davion Adkins didn’t make the final roster.
Kinney was excited by the possibility of making the squad weeks ago.
“It will be super cool,” Kinney said. “We all watched LeBron (James) and them win gold medals. All the greats win gold medals. To just win a gold medal, you are in a league that not a lot of people have accomplished, but some of the greatest players of all time and some great players now (have).
“So, to be in that, like, ‘Ayy, I got a gold medal,’ only so many people can say that. It’s great accomplishment.”
The 11 players alongside Kinney are Bruce Branch III, Quentin Coleman, Adan Diggs, Caleb Gaskins, Demarcus Henry, Jasiah Jervin, Malachi Jordan, Colben Landrew, Ethan Taylor, Davion Thompson and Darius Washington.
Team USA will play Group A games against Brazil, Mexico and Argentina at the 2026 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup. The squad will take on Argentina in its opening game at 6:30 p.m. Central on June 1.
