From the Desk of Dan Radakovich
Dear Canes Community,
Our campus is buzzing with activity as our fall sports have reported for their training camps, and our students are set to start their fall semester classes on August 18. We are looking forward to a great 2025-26 school year!
Back on Greentree
There is plenty of excitement surrounding our football team, which completed its fourth practice on Greentree this morning. Mario Cristobal has built this group in his image in terms of talent and toughness. The offense, which ranked first in the nation last year, returns a veteran offensive line, a deep backfield and a talented veteran under center in former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. The defense is strong up front and boasts an aggressive style under new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman.
Our season opener against Notre Dame at Hard Rock Stadium is less than four weeks away! It should be a phenomenal atmosphere on a standalone Sunday night for college football. I want to thank our fans for helping us sell more than 40,000 season tickets so far, which is our second highest total ever. Click here or call 1-800-GO-CANES to get your tickets now!
Preseason Honors
The Canes were picked to finish second in the ACC preseason poll behind Clemson, and several players have garnered preseason honors. Offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa and defensive lineman Rueben Bain were named first-team preseason All-ACC. Francis is also on the watch list for the Outland Trophy and Wuerffel Trophy, and Rueben was selected to the Nagurski Trophy Watch List. Carson Beck is on the Maxwell Award Watch List, Anez Cooper is on the Outland Trophy Watch List, and Keelan Marion is on the Paul Hornung Award Watch List. Congratulations and good luck to all!
First in the Classroom
Our women’s swimming and diving team, which this past season posted its best NCAA team finish (13th) since 2011, registered the nation’s top team GPA (3.89) amongst all Division I programs. Congratulations to swimming head coach Andy Kershaw, diving head coach Dario Di Fazio and our academic services staff for a job well done!
Latest News
Rising Canes senior Chiara Pellacani and incoming freshman Matteo Santoro won the gold medal for Italy last week in the mixed 3-meter synchronized diving competition at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. This continues an amazing year for Chiara, who also won the bronze medal at the Worlds in the 1-meter after capturing the NCAA title in the 1-meter for Miami last March. Congratulations to Chiara and Matteo for representing The U so well on the world stage!
Flormarie Heredia Colon and Ariana Rodriguez were named to the 2025 preseason All-ACC volleyball team. Congratulations to both! The Canes tip off their season on Friday, August 29 at home against Indiana.
Alexa Noel, the 2024 NCAA singles champion, is returning to Miami as our new assistant women’s tennis coach. In addition to her national title, Alexa was a four-time All-American and two-time Academic All-American. Welcome back, Alexa!
Two Canes pitchers – Griffin Hugus and Brian Walters – were selected in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft last month. Griffin was selected in the third round by Seattle, and Brian was picked in the eighth round by Philadelphia. Good luck to Griffin and Brian as they chase their big-league dreams! Meanwhile, former Cane infielder CJ Kayfus was called up to the Cleveland Guardians last week, becoming the third UM player to reach a MLB roster this season, joining pitchers Carson Palmquist (Rockies) and Brian Van Belle (Red Sox). Congratulations, CJ!
Farewell to a Canes Legend
Legendary Canes fan Holmes Braddock passed away on July 24, one day after his 100th birthday. After serving aboard a medic ship in World War II, Holmes enrolled at Miami in 1946 and had been attending Canes football and baseball games ever since. He was a pillar of our city, a longtime Miami-Dade County School Board member who pushed for desegregation and eventually had a high school – G. Holmes Braddock Senior High – named after him in 1989.
Holmes was a walking encyclopedia of Hurricanes sports knowledge and was a devoted board member at the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame & Museum, which presented him with its Distinguished Service Award in 2024. He will truly be missed by our entire university community. Rest in peace, Holmes.
100 Student-Athlete Stories
In conjunction with Miami’s centennial celebration, we have created “100 Student-Athletes Stories,” a weekly online series celebrating 100 of Miami’s most successful and influential student-athletes across all sports. This week’s honorees include tennis legend Doris Hart and Olympic diver Wendy Williams. Click here to check out the entire list of stories from now through the end of the year!
In conjunction with the centennial we have published 100 Years, 100 Games: The Greatest Football Games in Miami Hurricanes History looks back at a century of UM football from the program’s humble beginnings to its rise as a college football power. This 162-page book, written by Carter Toole with a foreword by Jimmy Johnson, captures the history, theater and legacy of University of Miami football and is the perfect gift for any Hurricanes fan. Click here to purchase!
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 can 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 membership plans.
Our Canes Community remains stronger than ever thanks to your generosity. Go Canes!
Dan Radakovich
