Jai Lucas is doing amazing things with the Miami Hurricanes and that opinion is shared by many.
With the Hurricanes' offseason roster construction mostly complete, Lucas is being rightfully applauded for a job well done by On3/Rivals, who have Miami listed with the fifth-best transfer class in terms of additions.
NEW: College Basketball Transfer Portal Winners by Additions🏀
— On3 (@On3) May 10, 2026
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The big additions for the Hurricanes include guard Acaden Lewis, who was one of the top freshmen in the Big East last year for Villanova, big man Somto Cyril, a 6-foot-11, 265-pound rim protector that averaged over two blocks a game last season for Georgia and forward DeSean Goode, a potential double-double machine that shot nearly 63 percent from the floor in his sophomore year at Robert Morris. Lucas closed out the transfer haul with former Indiana guard Nick Dorn.
That doesn't include the returning players from last year's team, including forward Shelton Henderson, who averaged 13.8 points and 4.9 rebounds as a freshman.
On3/Rivals lists Miami as one of the best five transfer classes in the country
Lucas is a rising star in college basketball who led the Hurricanes to 26 wins and a top four finish in the ACC. Miami exceeded expectations across the board and was a 7-seed in the national tournament, losing to Purdue in the Round of 32. Now Lucas has reloaded the Hurricanes roster in hopes of making a real tournament run for 2027.
"It's incredible, man. Like he's gotten this thing to the point where, if you look at this roster right now, how do you not have them in the top 25?" Rob Dauster from The Field of 68 podcast said. "I'd probably have him in the top 15, maybe top 10. I think Acaden Lewis is a stud. I saw him enough at Villanova last year to buy in. Shelton Henderson is a freaking monster. Like he's going to end up being an All-American caliber player."
Lucas is putting in the sort of work that has Dauster and others believing that the Hurricanes could be a dark horse contender fro the ACC Championship and the Final Four next year.
"It's insane to say after basically a year and a half in the program, he has this group competing at a level where it is comparable for Miami and Duke to be in the same conversation," Dauster concluded.
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