By SAM LANCE
KANSAS CITY, KS — Class of 2026 five-star guard Kayden Allen has recently made two big moves in his basketball career. The 6-foot-6 guard transferred from Montverde to Zephyrhills Christian Academy (FL) and switched AAU programs from Adidas 3SSB’s Team Loaded to Nike EYBL’s Team Thad.
With these two moves, Allen is looking forward to having more freedom and showcasing all aspects of his game. Most importantly this summer, he wants to win.
“A championship, nothing less,” Allen told ZAGSBLOG. “We have the talent, everybody has the intangibles, the athleticism. I feel like we really have a chance to win.”
In eight games with Team Thad so far, Allen has averaged 12.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 43.5% from the field. Team Thad sits at 6-2 since the addition of Allen and 8-3 overall, second in EYBL’s Raveling Division. Allen has been a great addition alongside five-star 2027 guard LJ Smith and 2026 four-star guard/wing Tarris Bouie, giving Team Thad a dynamic trio.
Allen describes himself as a combo guard who has very good touch and is a physical finisher.
“I feel like I’m aggressive on-ball defense, need to get better off ball,” Allen said. “My best trait is my mid-range. And then right now I’m working on just getting my handle tighter. Because I’m trying to be more of a legit combo guard.”
On the recruitment front, Allen has offers from several Power Five programs including Arizona State, Auburn, Cal, Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kansas, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Seton Hall, Tennessee, UCF, Virginia Tech and Washington. He’s taken an official visit to Ole Miss, as well as unofficials to Auburn, Georgia and Georgia Tech so far in the process.
Allen said Auburn, BYU, Cincinnati, Georgia, Mississippi State and Ole Miss were among the schools to see him during the high school season.
“A lot of my offers for real,” Allen said. “A lot of the coaches come to high school games and they don’t like let you know for real, you just see them. But AAU, everybody on my offer list has been in to see me for real. And I just picked up Kansas after last live session.”
The five-star broke down the visits he’s taken, plus the new offer from Kansas to ZAGSBLOG:
Auburn: “Coach Bruce Pearl is one of the head coaches I have a good relationship with. I took an unofficial there. He showed me practice, how I could fit in the system. And then coach [Ira] Bowman, that’s my guy. I’ve known him since like ninth grade, and he’s been in the recruitment process a long time. I really mess with him.”
Georgia: “I spoke to Mike White briefly. Of course we went through the presentation stuff, but that was my first time speaking to him. But coach [Antonio Reynolds]-Dean, he was the first one to ever offer me.”
Georgia Tech: “Coach Damon Stoudamire, I probably have the best relationship with him head coach wise. It’s always been a dream to play at home and stuff like that. And then coach Pershin [Williams], we always stay in touch. I’ve been on campus about three times, been to games, been to a practice, been able to see film, been able to see all the stuff behind the scenes. And I really enjoyed it.”
Kansas: “I don’t think there’s anything not to like about Kansas. Me wanting to be a combo guard, I feel like that’s one of those schools that can help me get there. And its just like one of those Blue Blood schools you’ve always dreamed about. It’s definitely an option and I do like the coaching staff. I know the coach is a very smart coach and I’d love to learn from him.”
On Bill Self: “I’ve never really met him, but I hope I can get to meet him and stuff if I get to take a visit and stuff like that. But I know that he’s a winning coach for sure.” Assistant coach Jeremy Case is mainly in contact and called Allen to offer.
Ole Miss: “It felt like a family. Being at the Sip, it was really like — I just felt the vibe as soon as I touched down on campus. I mess with the people around, the students. Everybody shows love to the basketball team. It’s not just like SEC schools are more football than basketball, like no. Everybody shows out so I really mess with that. Coach [Chris] Beard, he’s one of those coaches that coaches defense and play hard. I feel like that’s probably what I need to work on. And he really lets you hoop on offense, so I mess with Chris Beard. And then coach [Wes] Flanigan, he’s been the one majorly in my recruiting process. I’ve known him since I was in ninth grade. That’s probably one of the coaches I’m closest with now. I speak to him all the time.”
Allen doesn’t have any additional visits set at the moment.
“I’ll probably know after June live period when I play with my school ball team,” Allen said. “Pick up some more offers, see what schools are still messing with me and then proceed from there.”
When Allen starts taking more officials, he’s looking for a school that treats him like family.
“I really emphasize off court bond because I feel like that’s what helps on the court,” Allen said. “And then probably just letting me be able to play in certain actions that are league ready actions. Because I don’t plan on being in college, I want to go to the league. So just offensive systems with league stuff.”
Allen is ranked the No. 17 overall prospect in the class of 2026 by 247Sports.
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