Farmingdale names streets for basketball stars Kayden and Dylan Mingo

Long before Baylor, before Long Island Lutheran and before they became nationally recognized basketball stars, Kayden and Dylan Mingo were just two kids in Farmingdale learning how to play the game.

On Saturday, their hometown made sure no one would forget where it all started.

The brothers stood just steps from their childhood home as street signs bearing their names were unveiled at two separate intersections. Dylan Mingo Way now marks the corner of Crescent Drive North and Walnut Avenue East, while Kayden Mingo Way stands at Fourth Street and Walnut Avenue East.

For Dylan, the honor was so unexpected that he didn’t believe it at first.

“When they first told me about it, I was like, ‘Nahhh, you are just trolling,'” Dylan told Greater Long Island. “It’s surreal. I never thought something like this could happen just by being the people we are and playing basketball.”

“I couldn’t believe it at first,” Kayden added. “But when I realized it was true, I was just itching for the moment and felt so honored that someone would want to do that for me. It’s a blessing.”

The brothers’ basketball roots run deep in Farmingdale, where their paths began by following in the footsteps of their older brother, Dalique.

“Watching my older brother Dalique play is what really got me into basketball,” Kayden said. “I always wanted to be like him.”

Dylan, the youngest of the three, had two older brothers to watch and learn from.

“I was always in gyms watching them,” he said. “My dad always wanted me to play, and I figured since I’m already in the gym, I might as well play basketball too.”

Dylan, who played for his hometown Dalers in eighth grade before transferring to LuHi, still remembers watching Dalique suit up in green and white.

“Watching Dalique play games for Farmingdale was crazy,” Dylan said. “I’m happy I played one season here. It was a true blessing to be able to wear that Dalers jersey.”

That Farmingdale beginning eventually led Kayden and Dylan to Long Island Lutheran, where they helped establish the Crusaders as one of the nation’s top high school basketball programs.

Now, they’ll be teammates again at Baylor University, with Kayden joining the Bears as a sophomore transfer from Penn State and Dylan arriving as a freshman.

But before the brothers begin their next chapter together in Waco, Texas, Farmingdale gave them something permanent back home.

“It’s amazing,” Kayden said. “Farmingdale is always going to be home.”