From the Desk of Dan Radakovich
Dear Canes Community,
It’s an exciting day for Miami Athletics! Our football team hits Greentree Practice Fields for the first day of fall camp, which means our 2023-24 athletics year is officially underway. Our soccer team starts practice as well, and our cross country and volleyball will soon follow suit. We are looking forward to a successful season for all teams that proudly wear the orange and green.
Football Notes
Mario Cristobal, Kam Kinchens, Matt Lee and Tyler Van Dyke traveled to Charlotte, N.C. last week for ACC Kickoff, the conference’s annual preseason football media event. Mario and our three student-athletes represented Miami in a first-class manner, and I know they are excited about the prospects for this season.
The ACC no longer has Atlantic and Coastal divisions for football so we have three permanent opponents going forward – Florida State, Boston College and Louisville. Legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger made a huge impact at both Miami and Louisville so we have partnered with the Cardinals, as well as the Louisville Sports Commission and Miami Touchdown Club, to create The Schnellenberger Trophy. The trophy, which features a bronzed pair of Coach Schnellenberger’s boots, will be awarded annually to the winner of the Miami-Louisville game, which will take place this year on November 18 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Football Tickets
You can get your first glimpse at the Canes at our annual CanesFest at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, August 12. There will be an open practice, as well as alumni and player autographs. Click here to RSVP!
Our season opener against Miami (Ohio) is just one month away, which kicks off a terrific slate of seven home games, including visits from Texas A&M and Clemson. You can call 1-800-GO-CANES or click here to secure your seats. We can’t wait to see you cheering on the Canes at Hard Rock Stadium all season long!
Basketball Travels
Both our men’s and women’s basketball teams head overseas this week for their respective foreign tours. Jim Larrañaga’s squad departs for France today for an 11-day trip, where they will visit Paris, Deauvile, Normandy and Nice, and play three games during their travels. Katie Meier’s team will visit both France and Greece on an 11-day trip that begins Wednesday. The Canes will stop in Paris, Mykonos and Athens and also play three games during their adventure. Good luck to both our basketball teams and I hope they make memories for a lifetime!
MLB Draft
Six Canes were selected in the first 10 rounds of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft, which matched a school record. Yohandy Morales (Washington Nationals) and Andrew Walters (Cleveland Guardians) were both picked in the second round, while CJ Kayfus was selected in the third round by Cleveland, Alejandro Rosario (Texas) and Zach Levenson (Cincinnati) went in the fifth round, and Dominic Pitelli was picked by Cincinnati in the seventh round. Congratulations to our MLB draftees!
New head coach J.D. Arteaga has completed his coaching staff hires, bringing back former Canes pitcher and Nova Southeastern head coach Laz Gutierrez as pitching and mental skills coach; hiring long-time Boston Red Sox organizational coach Darren Fenster as assistant coach; elevating Jonathan Anderson to assistant coach and recruiting coordinator; and hiring former Penn State head coach and UM alum Rob Cooper as director of program development. We are excited about the staff J.D. has assembled and excited about the future of Miami baseball!
Swimming & Diving World Championships
Six members of our swimming and diving programs – four student-athletes and two coaches – participated in the 2023 FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Divers Mia Vallée (Canada), Max Flory (USA) and Mohamed Farouk (Egypt) all competed, as did swimmer Tara Vovk (Slovenia). Randy Ableman assisted the USA diving coaching staff, while Andy Kershaw was part of Slovenia’s coaching contingent. Congratulations to all the Canes who competed and coached on the world stage!
ACC Academic Honor Roll
We placed 235 student-athletes on the 2022-23 ACC Academic Honor Roll, which is comprised of student-athletes who participated in a varsity-level sport and registered a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the full academic year. I am incredibly proud of all the Canes student-athletes who made the ACC Academic Honor Roll. I also want to thank our coaching and academic staffs for continuing to help them achieve their goals in the classroom!
NIL
Name, Image & Likeness opportunities can help all Miami student-athletes maximize the value of their brand and learn valuable entrepreneurial skills during their time at UM.
You can support our student-athletes by contributing to the Canes Connection collective, which is rapidly building valuable partnerships with local businesses and connecting those businesses with our student-athletes. Click here for all the latest news and information about Canes Connection.
Our Canes Community remains stronger than ever thanks to your continued support. Go Canes!
