The Miami Hurricanes are ranked No. 14 in the 2026-27 AP Top 25 preseason poll, the highest since 2023-24.
Jai Lucas and UM have big expectations, as this is the third highest preseason ranking for Miami basketball in program history. Miami hasn’t been ranked in the top 15 of the AP Poll since 2023-24, when the Canes started the season ranked 13th in the country.
The Hurricanes finished last season ranked No. 24 in the AP poll with a 26-9 record. As a seven seed in the NCAA Tournament, Miami beat No. 10 seed Missouri in the Round of 64 before falling to No. 2 seed Purdue in the second round. UM finished third in the ACC, with wins over No. 11 UNC and No. 24 Louisville.
Jai Lucas returns key contributors Malik Reneau, Shelton Henderson and Dante Allen for the upcoming season. Henderson was named to the pre-season all ACC first team, and Reneau earned second team preseason honors. UM was picked to finish fourth in the conference behind Duke, Virginia and Louisville.
The Canes bring in some elite newcomers headlined by Villanova guard Acaden Lewis, Georgia center Somto Cyril and five-star recruit Caleb Gaskins.
“I do feel we’re a lot deeper than we were last year and so that was a big priority this off-season to make sure we have just some more depth off the bench,”Lucas said at ACC media day.
“We can do a lot of different things with this roster and that’s the thing I’m most excited about.”
The Hurricanes are one of four ACC teams ranked in the preseason AP poll. They join No. 2 Duke, No. 9 Virginia and No. 11 Louisville. North Carolina and Virginia Tech also received votes.
Miami will host No. 24 Vanderbilt in an exhibition game on Friday before opening the season with an in-state showdown against No. 1 Florida in Tampa on Nov. 2.
