What Will it Take for Miami Baseball to Return to Omaha?
In 2025, the Miami Hurricanes were one run away from Omaha. 2026, two games away from hosting a Super Regional against a No. 4-seeded Little Rock.
MIami is falling behind in baseball, a statement that seems foregone to a program with 25 College World Series appearances, winning four national championships (1982, 1985, 1999, 2001), and advancing to the NCAA regionals a record 44 consecutive years.
It is the same program that has won 29 NCAA Regional Titles, hosted 27 NCAA Regionals, and in each of their four national championship runs, they were a NCAA Regional Host.
Questions run rampant around Coral Gables and the fanbase that wants change, but can't seem to find the right answers about what has gone wrong over the past 10 years since the program's last trip to Omaha.
Is it the NIL, players, coaching?
It is a combination of all three, but this season, it came down to coaching. J.D. Arteaga had his best regular season yet as the program head coach in year three, leading the charge, but many mistakes by leading the ACC in errors and having another year of a lackluster bullpen cost the Canes a chance of returning 'home'.
Arteaga knows they have to improve because the standard of Omaha-or-bust rings in his ears.
"We'll get back home and just assess everything and see where we're at, and obviously we do have to improve it, but we'll figure that out when we get back home," Arteaga said after being elimated by eventual Gainesville Regional winners, Troy.
"It's the best regular season that we've had in the last three years, but obviously not at the best post-season. But at the end of the day, if we don't get to Omaha, it doesn't matter. It doesn't count as our program. We have got to be in Omaha, and that's our goal every year, year in and year out, and that's not going to change."
So what is it going to take for the Hurricanes to return to Omaha?
Roster Evaluation
Arteaga has been a good recruiter for the program, last season bringing in a top-five recruiting class, but in key areas, he has had some misses, starting with the pitching staff.
There have been some gems from the bullpen and from recruiting, highlighted this season by Rob Evans, freshman Jack Dorso, and Lyndon Glidwell. However, only one of those players is likely to return for next season.
To continue on defense, Miami's entire infield is gone, and will be replaced by portal pieces and those who have waited their turn in the dugout. It might be for the best with the number of errors the Canes committed this season.
Offensively, Alonzo Alvarez, Dylan Dubovik, and Gabreil Milano will lead the charge for the future, if they stay, while the rest of the lineup will change completely.
Others who have committed to the program, like Gio Rojas and Jacob Lombard, are likely to be drafted in the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft.
Daniel Cuvet, Jake Ogden, Derek Williams, Alex Sosa, and Max Galvin are all going to get drafted or have a chance to play at the next level, but it won't be in the Orange and Green.
All signs point to a down year for Miami after its best season under Arteaga. The schedule won't get any easier after the Canes avoided North Carolina and Georgia Tech during the regular season.
Arteaga is Here to Stay, For Now
The first area the Canes have to look at is getting more coaches and better coaching around the program. They have struggled with playing clean baseball over the past three seasons, and pitching has been the biggest question mark.
Arteaga is one of the greatest pitchers ever to play college baseball, but he has struggled to translate that into coaching. Many fans love the man, but the coach they would rather see venture elsewhere. However, Arteaga still has some time left on his contract, so he is staying for the time being.
The players love him, and deep down, everyone else does too. It just starts with getting the right pieces around him and him improving his decision-making and player evaluation.
NIL?
If you look at the other athletics programs at the University of Miami, they are swimming in money, ready to launch at any player at any time because they know they need to compete at the highest level.
With college baseball, that is a different story. There is NIL funding, but not to the same extremes as the main sports. It is like that around the country, not just in Coral Gables. However, Miami needs the players, and they have pockets deep enough to go and get some.
It also doesn't help that with the school being private, many players, who are not on scholarship, are forking over tons of money just to play.
A simple and small donation of $1 million could change the program's life; it just takes whoever wants to do it, because it's the University of Miami, someone has that washed away on a boat.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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