Two Five-Star Basketball Recruits Include Miami In Top Five As Early Signing Window Closes
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The early signing window officially closed November 19 and Miami Hurricanes basketball led by head coach Jai Lucas led a strong push toward building a winning program in Coral Gables once again.
The Hurricanes relied heavily on the transfer portal this offseason to revive their team from the disappointment of the past two seasons, but recruiting, development, and continuity will always be a staple of building a consistently winning program. Defending national champion head coach Todd Golden spoke about how important continuity is after beating the Houston Cougars to become champion.
"But it all starts with the retention, and it all starts with that continuity, and any team that’s able to build continuity within their program I think is going to be a better chance of being successful."Todd Golden on building a winning team
The Hurricanes look to continue a strong recruiting effort when the signing window opens back up in April 2026.
Lucas secures the local five-star
Miami made Christopher Columbus High School forward Caleb Gaskins a priority and it paid off in the form of a commitment. Gaskins committed to the Hurricanes October 30 and he signed his letter of intent November 19.
The 6-foot-9 Melbourne, Florida native visited Texas A&M and Florida this month but it wasn't enough to sway him away from where he resides currently. Head coach Jai Lucas aims to make South Florida a funnel into the Hurricanes basketball program for years to come.
"Gaskins is a key commitment for Lucas, his first five-star recruit as the head coach of Miami. This commitment is also a sign that Lucas has made it a priority to keep the state's best players home for college."ESPN analyst Paul Biancardi
Gaskins looks to join junior guard Tru Washington if Washington chooses to remain with the Hurricanes for his senior season.
Two out-of-state five-stars include Miami in short list
Miami is still in the mix for the top-ranked point guard of the 2026 class. Brandon McCoy Jr. out of Sierra Canyon High School in California has Oregon and Arkansas ranked at the top of his list but Lucas and the Hurricanes are reportedly involved.
Deron Rippey Jr. is a six-foot-two guard out of Blairstown, New Jersey that has Miami is in his top-five schools. He's the No. 18 ranked player in the 2026 class overall and he's one of the top-ranked names for his position as well.
"No. 18 Deron Rippey Jr. has cut his list to five schools: Duke, NC State, Miami, Tennessee and Texas. Expect a decision sometime between late December to mid-January."Paul Biancardi of ESPN
Jaxon Richardson doesn't include Miami
Orlando Magic guard Jase Richardson attended Michigan State and also attended Christopher Columbus High School for his senior season. His younger brother Jaxon Richardson is a senior at Christopher Columbus currently and it looks like he won't be following his brothers' path to Michigan State and he won't be following teammate Caleb Gaskins to Miami either.
Jaxon has shortened his list to just four schools with two of them being in SEC and one of them being USC in Los Angeles, California.
"No. 11 Jaxon Richardson, the son of former NBA all-star Jason Richardson and brother of Orlando Magic guard Jase Richardson, won't be following their path to Michigan State. He's down to Alabama, Creighton, USC and Ole Miss."Paul Biancardi on Jaxon.
The Miami Hurricanes basketball team plays Delaware State Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm Eastern on ACC Extra. They look to improve to 5-1 and currently have a 98.8% chance to win the game, according to ESPN analytics.
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