Early offseason preview for Miami Hurricanes basketball after impactful first season for Jai Lucas

Despite losing to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament, the 2025–26 season was a success for the Miami Hurricanes basketball team.

Led by first-year head coach Jai Lucas, UM won 26 games – a 19-win improvement from a season ago – finished in third place in the ACC standings and laid the foundation for more tournament appearances in years to come. 

“It’s my job to keep it going and keep it rolling, where this time next year we’re talking about going to the Sweet 16, not just the season ending,” Lucas said after Miami’s tournament loss to Purdue. “So that’s the goal, that’s the plan, until you win National Championships.”

To continue improving into next season, the Hurricanes must have a productive offseason. This will require Lucas and his staff to replace 42.2 points, 19.4 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game worth of production from seniors Malik Reneau, Tre Donaldson and Ernest Udeh. All three of these players were starters at UM and major reasons why the Hurricanes made the tournament.

Expect Miami to once again utilize the transfer portal to infuse the roster with talent. The portal window opens on April 7, but players around the country are already announcing their intentions to transfer once they are able to. As of Monday morning, the likes of Providence guard Stefan Vaak (15.8 PPG, 3.2 APG and 2.5 RPG), Central Connecticut forward Darin Smith Jr. (20.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG) and Belmont guard Tyler Lundblade (15.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG) are set to enter the portal. Many players will join them in the coming weeks.

As for high-school recruiting, Miami only has one player signed to its 2026 class, but it’s a huge addition. Five-star Miami Columbus (Fla.) forward Caleb Gaskins committed to the Canes back in October and is expected to contribute early on as a freshman. He has the frame (6-foot-8 and 220 pounds) and two-way skillset to slot in as a starting forward for UM next season. While Miami could add to this one-player recruiting class, Lucas is more likely to fill remaining roster slots from the transfer portal.

It’s difficult to predict which players with eligibility on this year’s roster will return, given the unpredictable nature of the portal. We feel confident, though, that starting forward Shelton Henderson and starting combo guard Dante Allen are safe bets to remain with the Hurricanes through next season. Both Henderson and Allen heavily contributed in their respective freshman seasons, and neither player is considered a sure-fire draft prospect at this time.

Guards Tru Washington and Noam Dovrat were important bench pieces toward the end of the year, and retaining both for their senior seasons would be vital for Miami’s rotation. Forward Timo Malovec showed some promise as a freshman, but has a lot of work ahead to develop into a more complete player for the Canes should he stay in Coral Gables. Center Salih Altuntas had a more inconsistent freshman season, but he does have tantalizing size (6-foot-10, 274 pounds) and was not asked to do a lot.

Other freshmen like Jordyn Kee, John Laboy II and Treyvon Maddox played little this season and are subject to evaluation of the staff moving forward.

For sophomore guard Marcus Allen, his main focus right now is his health. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma eight games into the season, so we won’t discuss anything relating to his role for next year until he’s fully recovered.

At the minimum, without knowing which players will leave the team, we expect Miami to target a starting-caliber center, as well as at least one high-level guard in the portal. Additional wing depth would also be a plus.