When Miami hired Jai Lucas on March 10, nearly the entire Hurricanes roster and 2025 class had defected. Lucas rebuilt the roster through the transfer portal and added top 50 recruits Dante Allen and Shelton Henderson. Miami finished 23rd in the ESPN "Final 2025 men's NCAA basketball recruiting class rankings."
Jeff Borzello of ESPN named Miami as one of "the biggest stories of the past few months" as he examined the top 25 classes in the final 2025 ESPN rankings. Miami moving into the top 25 of the recruiting rankings is remarkable and adds to the reputation Lucas has as an elite recruiter.
Henderson is 30th and Allen is 42nd in the ESPN 2025 player rankings. Miami also has a commitment from Slovakian small forward Timotej Malovec and Turkish center Salih Altuntas in the 2025 class. Borzello began his analysis of the 2025 Miami class by reiterating that the first class under Lucas is a sign of what is to come.
Henderson decommitting from Duke, where Lucas was his primary recruiter and signing with Miami was the big move for Lucas and the Hurricanes, per Borzello. Allen was the first 2025 prospect to commit to Miami under Lucas.
"Most other big changes centered on Miami. Matt Able, who committed to the Hurricanes under Jim Larranga, flipped to NC State. And new Miami head coach Jai Lucas was able to land top-50 recruits Shelton Henderson and Dante Allen, who had originally committed to Duke and Villanova, respectively."Jeff Borzello, ESPN
Signing a top 25 class in less than two months as the Miami head coach projects the Hurricanes to be a major factor in recruiting with Lucas as head coach. Miami has the 23rd best transfer 2025 class in the 247Sports rankings. The 2025 freshman class is ranked 19th by 247Sports.
The roster Lucas has assembled has Miami projected to go from tying the program record for losses in 2024-25 to being projected as a 10 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament and one of the last four teams to receive a bye. Lucas has quickly rebuilt the Miami basketball roster.