From the Desk of Dan Radakovich
Dear Canes Community,
We are off and running in March with the start of spring football, a packed week of baseball and NCAA postseason action for our swimming and diving and indoor track and field teams.
Welcome Jai Lucas
On Thursday we announced Jai Lucas as our new men’s basketball head coach. Jai comes to Coral Gables after spending the past three seasons at Duke University, where he has served as associate head coach for two seasons and as an assistant coach for one. Jai will be formally introduced at a press conference on campus on Monday.
We are excited to welcome Jai and his family to the Hurricane Family. He is an innovative coach, a relentless recruiter and proven talent developer whose knowledge and passion for the game resonated throughout the interview process. He has coached at some of college basketball’s most storied programs under tremendous head coaches. It is clear that Jai understands what it takes to compete on and off the floor in this new era of college basketball and he sees the great potential at Miami.
Our men’s basketball team wraps up the 2024-25 campaign at noon on Saturday, hosting NC State. I want to thank interim head coach Bill Courtney and his staff for navigating this team through a difficult season. Please come out to Watsco Center Saturday to support the team on Senior Day!
Spring Football
Mario Cristobal’s squad hit Greentree Practice Field this week for the first three practices of spring ball. It has been exciting to see how our talented group of freshmen and transfers gel with our veteran leaders.
We hired former Minnesota defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman in January and rounded out the defensive staff last week by hiring defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge, defensive tackles coach Damione Lewis and safeties coach Will Harris. All four coaches have outstanding backgrounds, and I know they are excited about working with our student-athletes.
Our spring football game will take place on Saturday, April 12 at Cobb Stadium. More details to come! Don’t forget we have eight homes at Hard Rock Stadium this season, including non-conference tilts with Notre Dame on August 31 and Florida on September 20. Click here or call 1-800-GO-CANES to secure your tickets for what promises to be a memorable fall at Hard Rock!
Busy Baseball Week
Our baseball team is 11-3 and pushing through a hectic stretch of five games in six days. The Canes defeated FIU 7-3 at loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins, behind a grand slam from Daniel Cuvet. They followed it up with a 12-2 win over Villanova on Wednesday night. Next up is a big three-game home series with Connecticut starting tonight at 7 p.m. Click here or call 1-800-GO-CANES to secure your tickets and we will see you at The Light!
Latest Canes News
Our women’s basketball team (14-15) concluded its season this past weekend with a loss to Cal. Haley Cavinder led the Canes in scoring in her last game in a Miami uniform, capping an incredible season in which she finished fifth in the ACC in scoring and earned second-team all-conference honors. Thank you to all our fans who supported Tricia Cullop’s team this season!
Our swimming and diving team finished 10th at the recent ACC Championships with Chiara Pellacani winning the women’s three-meter diving title and Max Flory capturing the men’s platform title en route to Men’s Diver of the Meet honors. Swimmers Giulia Carvalho, Ashlyn Massey and Simone Moll qualified for NCAA Championships in Seattle later this month, while our divers are in Auburn, Ala., this weekend for their NCAA zone qualifying. Good luck to the Canes!
Our track and field teams competed at the ACC Indoor Championships in Louisville last weekend, where the men finished sixth and the women placed 12th. Edgar Campre (heptathlon), Gabriella Grissom (800m) and Solomon Strader (400m) all qualified for NCAA Indoors later this month in Virginia Beach. Best of luck to the Canes!
You can keep up with all 18 of our programs by subscribing to the weekly Miami Athletics Report. Click here to sign up!
Four Canes Earn Postgraduate Scholarship Recognition
Four Canes earned postgraduate scholarship recognition from the ACC last week.
Dorian Gonzalez (baseball) and Alexa Noel (women’s tennis) were named 2025 Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford recipients, and Max Flory (men’s diving) and Mia Vallée (women’s diving) were 2025 ACC Excellence Award winners.
The Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford and Jim & Pat Thacker postgraduate scholarships are awarded to selected student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree after completing their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $9,000 toward his or her graduate education. ACC Excellence Awards are given to student-athletes who plan to pursue professional careers in their chosen sports or career field of study.
Congratulations to Dorian, Alexa, Max and Mia!
Community Service Champions
Miami captured first place in the 2024 NCAA Team Works Community Service Competition powered by Helper Helper. The Canes earned the Division I award, with 99 percent of its 400-plus student-athletes participating in at least one community service activity. This is the third time we have captured the NCAA Team Works Community Service Competition after also taking top honors in 2018 and 2022.
We encourage a servant mindset at Miami, and I am immensely proud that our student-athletes captured another NCAA Team Works Community Service National Championship. They continue to raise the bar for our community service efforts thanks to the leadership and guidance of Shirelle Jackson and our student-athlete development staff. Congratulations to all!
UM Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet
The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame & Museum has announced its 55th induction  banquet will take place on Thursday, April 17 at the Watsco Center.
The eight-member Class of 2025 is comprised of Vikki Alonzo (soccer), Mark Cooper (football), Kevin Howard (baseball), Cindy Kessler Miller (golf), Jerome McDougle (football), Brian Ramos (diving), Darius Rice (basketball), and Krista Simkins (track & field).
Tickets to the event are $200 for single tickets, a regular table of 10 can be purchased for $2000, Sponsor Tables of 10 for $2750, which includes preferred seating, and a limited number of Elite Sponsor Tables for $5000. Tickets and tables can be purchased by clicking here. We hope to see you there for a memorable celebrating some of the our greatest Canes student-athletes!
Canes Connection
Canes Connection is the Official NIL Collective of Miami Athletics and helps develop partnerships to benefit student-athletes with the goal of building the most impactful NIL program in college athletics.
You have the opportunity to support student-athletes through Canes Connection, and as a benefit of that support, receive exclusive access to a wide variety of benefits including direct interaction and engagement with student-athletes. Click here to learn more about Canes Connection and its variety of membership plans.
Our Canes Community remains stronger than ever thanks to your generosity. Thank you for your continued support and Go Canes!
Dan Radakovich
