Despite signing the 21st-ranked 2025 and 19th group of incoming freshmen by 247Sports, Jai Lucas received a C+ from David Cobb of CBS Sports in his article "Grading rosters of first-year coaches: Texas' Sean Miller, Maryland's Buzz Williams, others build teams."
After losing 10 players to the portal, Lucas brought in six transfers and signed five players in the 2025 class. Miami has room to add more players to the 2025-26 roster. Two freshmen and four of the transfers are graded four stars or above by 247Sports.
Miami is projected to start four transfers and one freshman in 2025-26. Lucas has quickly proven his ability as an elite recruiter extends beyond working as an assistant coach at blue bloods Kentucky and Duke. Lucas was also an assistant coach at his alma mater, Texas.
Miami could have one of the best rosters in the ACC in 2025-26. The FanDuel Sportsbook lists Miami seventh among ACC teams and 31st nationally to win the national championship at +10000. Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia are the only ACC teams with lower odds than Miami.
"Miami's first roster under Lucas is light on proven depth but features a couple of top-60 transfers in Tre Donaldson and Malik Reneau. Donaldson is a battle-tested point guard with prior stops at Auburn and Michigan, while Reneau is a former top-40 prospect who shot better than 55% from the floor.David Cobb, CBS Sports
(Lucas and Miami) did land ex-Duke commitment Shelton Henderson. The 6-6 small forward is ranked a 5-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite and will help immediately. The question is how ready the rest of Miami's freshman class might be. Among them are Slovakian wing Timotej Malovec and Turkish center Salih Altuntas, the former of whom is already 21. Grade: C+."
Donaldson led Michigan to the Big 10 Tournament Championship and the NCAA South Regional semifinals, where they lost to Auburn. Reneau averaged 11.4 points per game, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in three years at Indiana. Center Ernest Udeh Jr. from TCU and shooting guard Tru Washington are also expected starters.
Henderson is the projected starting small forward for Miami in 2024. Cobb mentioned all of the 2025 incoming freshmen except for Dante Allen, the 35th-ranked prospect and fifth combo guard in the 2025 class and point guard John Laboy. The son of former NBA player Malik Allen, Dante has a chance to contribute as a freshman.
Altuntas, Laboy and Malovec project more as long-term developmental players. Combo guard Jordan Kee from Georgia and power forward Marcus Allen from Missouri also joined Miami through the transfer portal and add depth. Allen averaged 9.2 minutes per game and Kee redshirted in 2024-25.
Jai Lucas is crafting a strong roster in Coral Gables 🏝️
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) April 17, 2025
Miami has landed:
• Tre Donaldson (11.3 PPG – Michigan)
• Malik Reneau (13.3 PPG – Indiana)
• Tru Washington (11.1 PPG – New Mexico)
• Ernest Udeh Jr. (6.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG – TCU)
It's a new era for the Canes. 🌊👀 pic.twitter.com/jRmLXAVLb0
The depth for Miami is unproven, but the four incoming transfers who are projected to start are players who have produced in their college careers. Donaldson, Reneau and Udeh have all produced in Power Conferences and Washington was All-Mountain West Team Honorable Mention in 2024-25.
The Mountain West is one of the best mid-major conferences. Washington should be ready to produce in the ACC. Miami has a roster that should be ready to compete in the ACC. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi projects Miami as a 10 seed in the South Region in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Lucas leading Miami to the 2026 NCAA Tournament a year after the program record-tying 24 losses overall and 17 in the ACC would be exceptional. All of the Miami incoming transfers are from power conferences except Washington. The lack of proven depth should be the only reason Cobb graded the Miami roster a C+.