From the Desk of Dan Radakovich
Dear Canes Community,
We are heading down the home stretch of spring and it promises to be an exciting finish to our season with six of our teams still in action.
Spring Football Game
We wrapped up spring football by hosting our annual spring game at Cobb Stadium. It was great to see so many students, supporters and alumni back on campus to check out the Canes. Thank you to everyone for helping us stage such a terrific event!
Mario Cristobal’s squad now turns its attention to the fall. Our 2024 schedule features six home games at Hard Rock Stadium, including key conference matchups with Florida State and Virginia Tech. Season tickets are available now. Call 1-800-GO-CANES or click here to secure your seats!
NFL Draft
Four Canes were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, led by safety Kam Kinchens, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round with the 99th overall pick. Defensive back Jaden Davis (Arizona Cardinals), center Matt Lee (Cincinnati Bengals) and safety James Williams (Tennessee Titans) were all selected in the seventh round. This marks Miami’s 50th straight year with at least one draft pick, the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. Congratulations to all our draft picks and good luck in training camp!
Welcome Tricia Cullop
We are excited to welcome Tricia Cullop as the eighth women’s basketball coach in Miami history. Tricia comes to Coral Gables after spending the past 16 seasons as the head coach at the University of Toledo, where she compiled a record of 353-169. The six-time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year led the Rockets to five MAC regular season championships and 11 postseason berths, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to Toledo, she spent eight seasons as the head coach at the University of Evansville.
Tricia is a proven winner who understands what it takes to build a championship culture, develop talent, mentor student-athletes, and generate excitement around a program. Welcome, Tricia!
Basketball Additions
Tricia has wasted no time bolstering her roster as the Canes have added forward Daniela Abies from Wichita State, forward Natalija Marshall from Notre Dame and guard Darrione Rogers from Mississippi State. In addition, we are excited to welcome back Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who were instrumental in helping us reach our first-ever Elite Eight in 2023.
Jim Larrañaga’s men’s basketball squad has added Stetson guard Jalen Blackmon and East Carolina forward Brandon Johnson to the roster for this coming season. Jalen ranked 14th in the nation in scoring last season, averaging 21.3 points per game. Brandon averaged 14 points per game for the Pirates and led the team with 8.6 rebounds per game.
Season tickets for both our men’s and women’s basketball teams are on sale now. Click here or call 1-800-GO-CANES to get your tickets today!
Olympic Sports Update
Our women’s tennis team defeated No. 14 seed Florida 4-3 Sunday in Gainesville to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the 25th time in program history. Audrey Boch-Collins won the decisive match in three sets at No. 4 singles. Next up for the Canes is a trip to Ann Arbor to face third-seeded Michigan on Saturday. Good luck to head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews and her squad!
Our golf team, led by All-ACC selection Sara Byrne, tees off today in their NCAA Regional in Auburn, Ala. Janice Olivencia’s squad will battle against 11 other teams over the next three days at the Auburn University Club. Best of luck to the Canes on the links!
Our track and field squad heads to Atlanta this week for the ACC Outdoor Championships. Our men’s squad is currently ranked No. 24 in the nation, led by Edgar Campre, who is ranked fourth in the country in the decathlon, and Russell Robinson, who ranks fifth in the triple jump on the heels of his indoor national title. Good luck to the Canes in Atlanta!
Our rowing team has finished its regular season and is now preparing for the ACC Championships at Lake Wheeler in Raleigh, which start May 17. Best of luck to our rowers at the conference regatta!
Our baseball team (21-25) wraps up a four-game homestand Wednesday against FIU at 6 p.m. Our final home series of the season starts Thursday, May 16 against Pittsburgh. Come cheer on the Canes at The Light!
Celebration of Women’s Athletics
We held our 10th annual Celebration of Women’s Athletics presented by adidas on April 28 at the Shalala Student Center and it was once again an incredible event honoring our female student-athletes. ESPN’s Christine Williamson – a former Canes volleyball player – served as emcee and Paige gave an inspiring keynote address. Click here to read more about the event. Thank you to all who attended the CWA and who continue to support Miami women’s athletics!
Hurricane Honors
Our second annual Hurricane Honors awards ceremony took place on April 15 at the Newman Alumni Center. We handed out 17 awards, including the Ibis Award, which went to football student-athlete Jalen Rivers for his contributions in the community, his excellence in the classroom and his efforts on the field. It was wonderful to see our student-athletes from across the department gather for a night of fun and recognition. Click here to read all about the event!
Class of 2024
Spring commencement exercises will be held at Watsco Center later this week and 63 student-athletes will earn their degrees, including five former student-athletes. I am extremely proud of our graduates. They have competed at the highest level while challenging themselves in the classroom. I hope to see all of them back on campus often, engaging as proud University of Miami alumni. Congratulations to all!
OnBalance Partnership
Miami Athletics has announced a partnership with OnBalance, a first-of-its-kind platform for measuring, managing and improving athletes’ mental healthcare. We will utilize OnBalance for actionable intelligence and measurable progression metrics to help improve student-athletes’ mental health outcomes. We understand the challenges our student-athletes face both on and off the field and OnBalance’s comprehensive management platform can help us be proactive in ensuring that they receive the care they need. Click here to learn more.
Canes Connection
Canes Connection is the Official NIL Collective of Miami Athletics and helps develop partnerships to benefit student-athletes with the goal of helping Miami build the most impactful NIL program in college athletics.
Canes fans, alumni, and corporate partners can support student-athletes through Canes Connection. As a benefit of that support, Canes Connection members receive exclusive access to a wide variety of benefits including direct interaction and engagement with student-athletes. There are six membership plans to choose from. Click here to learn more about Canes Connection.
Our Canes Community remains stronger than ever thanks to your generosity. Go Canes!
– Dan Radakovich
