'I know what's best for me.' Tyler McKinley leaves Walnut Hills for Link Academy prep

He is 6-feet-8-inches or 6-foot-9-inches depending on what recruiting posts you read but 2024 basketball recruit Tyler McKinley is leaving Walnut Hills after playing his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Eagles varsity.

McKinley, who has offers including the University of Cincinnati, Xavier, Ohio State, West Virginia, Penn State and South Carolina, will be moving on to Link Academy in Branson, Missouri. He made the announcement via social media Friday afternoon.

"The player development, on and off the court, really did it for my family," McKinley said of his decision to take the leap to Link.

McKinley has jumped his weight from 210 last season to 225 pounds and expects the academy to help him transform to the rigors of Division I college basketball.

Cincinnati coach Wes Miller is very familiar with Link Academy, as Hayden Koval, Jarrett Hensley and A.J. McGinnis from last year's Bearcats came from the program.

McKinley led the Eastern Cincinnati Conference in scoring at 17.2 points per game as Walnut Hills finished the season 23-3. He also grabbed 7.4 rebounds per game and had eight double-doubles on the year playing for then-coach Ricardo Hill. Hill has since moved on to take over the program at Indian Hill High School but is still close to McKinley and familiar with Link Academy.

"They were like 34-2 last year and lost to Montverde (Florida) in the national championship," Hill said. "They have one of the top rosters in the country. He'll fit right in with them. We're going to miss watching him with that Walnut Hills squad."

As for his college choice, don't expect anything anytime soon. This is just the next step in his process at the pivot.

"Schools are still calling and still rolling in," McKinley said. "We're going to see how all this plays out. I think I'll probably decide maybe this time next year."

Hill also believes McKinley's recruitment is still wide open with the Ohio schools (Bearcats, Musketeers, Buckeyes, etc.) hot on his trail.

"He's going to have his choice, no doubt about it," Hill said.

McKinley is the second local high school standout to move to a prep academy as UC commit Rayvon Griffith left Taft after leading them to a state title for Arizona Compass.

"He's having fun out there and he's getting better," McKinley said of his contact with the Bearcat recruit. "When he came back for the Smith League (local summer league featuring some of the area's top college/pro players), people saw that he changed."

Link has an Elite high school team in addition to a pair of post-grad programs.

"They went to the national final on ESPN," Hill said. "The prep schools offer so much, the national exposure. You're on television just like you're in college. That's hard to compete with when you're a regular high school program. There's so much focus on basketball skill. Tyler's going to work on his strength and his body. You put all that together, you're talking about probably a future NBA player."

Hill has had previous experience with prep schools as Walnut Hills grad MaCio Teague attended Montverde Academy before landing at UNC-Asheville and later Baylor, where he was part of a national championship.

McKinley is currently ranked as a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com and the top recruit in Ohio's class of 2024. He made his mark at Walnut Hills and hopes to continue making an impact in the Ozarks.

"I know what's best for me," he said of the upcoming experience.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Walnut Hills basketball recruit Tyler McKinley heads to Link Academy