Miami HC Jai Lucas gets his first piece of good news for the offseason

Miami got a useful bit of offseason roster news Thursday when freshman guard Dante Allen decided to return for the 2026-27 season. For Jai Lucas, that means one more proven rotation piece stays in place after a 26-9 season that ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Allen logged 6.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the field in 2025-26.

Dante Allen will return to Miami

There is value in what Allen still might become. He was a consensus four-star recruit and the No. 64 player in the 2025 class in the 247Sports Composite. He came to Coral Gables out of Montverde Academy after averaging 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals as a senior.

In his second college game, he posted 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists against Bethune-Cookman. Against Elon on Nov. 20, he scored a season-high 14 points.

In the comeback win over Stanford on Jan. 28, Allen finished with nine points, and his transition layup off a Tru Washington steal plus two late free throws helped close the game. In the one-point win over Virginia Tech on Feb. 17, he gave Miami 10 points and five rebounds.

In the NCAA tournament opener against Missouri, Allen had nine points and five rebounds, and he actually carried a team-leading seven points into halftime as the Hurricanes had a one-point lead.

Jai Lucas and Miami project to lose some key players

Miami already knows it has to replace a lot. Tre Donaldson, Malik Reneau and Ernest Udeh Jr. are all seniors, which means the Hurricanes are losing their starting point guard, their leading interior scorer and one of the anchors of their frontcourt.

Donaldson and Reneau were everywhere in Miami's biggest wins late in the year and Udeh was right there with them.