What the Canes have done that nobody else has. And Cristobal revelation on topic
In this Wild West of college athletics, when every player is an unrestricted free agent every year, some schools have navigated the transfer terrain better than others.
And if you trust the national ranking services, the Miami Hurricanes’ football, basketball and baseball programs collectively have navigated this world better than anyone over the past seven months.
UM entered the week as the only school whose football, men’s basketball and baseball programs are all ranked in the top six in the most often-cited transfer portal rankings of the offseason.
247 Sports rates UM’s 12-player football portal class fifth, behind only LSU, Mississippi, Texas and Penn State. (A 13th player, safety Conrad Hussey, was bounced from the team after spring practice.)
Meanwhile, 247 Sports ranks UM’s six-player incoming basketball transfer class sixth in the country, behind only Louisville, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas and Indiana.
And 64 Analytics placed UM’s 12-player baseball portal class at No. 6 earlier this week, behind only Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina and Mississippi State. (UM was down to 10th on Thursday.)
The players must perform, of course, but the high rankings are a testament to strong evaluation by the coaches and their staffs and UM’s well-oiled NIL machine, which is funded by wealthy businessmen and women who prefer anonymity.
The most prominent position that UM’s athletic department has filled in the portal has been quarterback, with Cam Ward, Carson Beck and now Darian Mensah signed to big-money deals the past three years.
But that won’t be the case next offseason, Mario Cristobal told WQAM this week.
“We finally feel our quarterback room and its supporting cast is ready to roll,” Cristobal said. “So at this time next year, we don’t have to go to the portal. We’re good with our high school recruits, the way they’re developing and what’s coming in. Throughout the last three years, we’ve had to go and pluck certain parts for our team out of the portal because we weren’t quite there.”
The Hurricanes are set to have three top QB recruits on their roster next season, barring transfers: sophomore Luke Nickel (the No. 19 QB in the 2025 class), freshman Dereon Coleman (No. 20) and Class of 2027 commitment Israel Abrams (No. 2). Mensah is widely expected to turn pro after this season.
In case you’ve lost track, here’s a recap of the 30 portal additions in Miami’s Big 3 men’s sports this year:
Football portal additions
▪ Mensah: For Duke last season, was second in the nation in passing yards (3,973) and passing touchdowns (34). He’s a potential Heisman Trophy candidate and a potential first-round pick in next April’s NFL Draft.
▪ Receiver Cooper Barkate: Mensah’s favorite target at Duke was ninth nationally in receiving yards (1,106) and 16th in receptions (72) in 2025.
▪ Receiver Vandrevius Jacobs: Averaged 17.1 yards per catch at South Carolina last season, and his speed was clearly an asset during UM spring practice.
▪ Receiver Cam Vaughn: Productive college receiver at West Virginia, but will need to compete with Jacobs, Josh Moore and Daylyn Upshaw for the No. 3 and 4 roles behind Malachi Toney and Barkate.
▪ Edge player Damon Wilson: At Missouri last season, was 10th in FBS in quarterback pressures (54) and tied for 16th in sacks (nine). A projected first-round pick whose pass-rush skills are vital as UM replaces Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor.
▪ Safety/nickel corner Omar Thornton: High-impact player at Boston College who’s positioned to replace Keointe Scott as UM’s primary nickel corner.
▪ Defensive tackle Jarquez Carter: The Ohio State transfer (considered a top-20 defensive tackle coming out of high school) impressed in the spring and is “going to be a great player,” Cristobal said.
▪ Defensive lineman Keona Davis: The Nebraska transfer offers needed depth at end and tackle.
▪ Offensive lineman Jamal Meriweather: The 6-7, 305-pound guard played only 59 offensive snaps in three years at Georgia, but UM offensive line coach Alex Mirabal sees intriguing tools to develop.
▪ Interior lineman Jonathan Cline: The former Eastern Tennessee State guard/center offers depth.
▪ Kicker Jack Olsen: Went 19 of 21 on field goals for Northwestern last season and could end up handling that role for Miami.
▪ Jake Weinberg: Of his 61 kickoffs at FSU last season, 56 were touchbacks. That big leg on kickoffs appeals to UM.
Basketball portal additions
▪ Guard Acaden Lewis: The Villanova transfer was rated by 247 as the No. 1 combo guard, No. 5 point guard and No. 20 player overall in the portal class. Averaged 12.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals as a freshman last year. Must improve his 28% three-point shooting to be as productive as Tre Donaldson, who’s now with the Miami Heat.
▪ Center Somto Cyril: Ranked the No. 4 center and No. 21 overall player in the portal after averaging 9.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and leading the SEC in both field goal percentage (75.9; he didn’t attempt a three) and blocks per game (2.2) in 32 starts for Georgia. Gives UM a plug-and-play center to replace Ernest Udeh.
▪ Guard Nick Dorn: 247 Sports rated him the No. 41 shooting guard in the portal. He has size (6-7), length and a nice touch (38% on threes for Indiana last season and 48% from the field overall). Averaged 8.1 points per game.
▪ Forward DeSean Goode: The Horizon League’s Player of the Year at Robert Morris, Goode will replace some of Malik Reneau’s scoring and rebounding. He averaged 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds last season and shot 36 for 63 (57%) on threes. His 62% shooting percentage led the conference. 247 Sports rated him the No. 19 power forward and 73rd best player in the portal.
▪ Guard Quinn Berger: The 6-2 point guard will compete to back up Lewis; he averaged 3.1 points and 0.7 assists and 16.6 minutes in 30 appearances, including seven starts, for Bucknell last season.
▪ Guard Brent Bland: He earned All-Mid American Conference first-team honors last season after leading St. Peter’s in scoring (13.9 ppg), steals (59), and three-pointers made (79, on 36.9% accuracy) His distance shooting -- along with Goode’s -- fills a major need.
Baseball portal additions
▪ Jacksonville State third baseman Trey King: The 109th player in the portal (per 64 Analytics) projects as a corner infielder or designated hitter after hitting .338 with 45 RBI in 62 games.
▪ South Carolina third baseman Dawson Harman:The No. 373 player in the portal hit .227 with five homers and 21 RBI in 40 games.
▪ LSU third baseman Trent Carraway: Hit .243 (.321 on base) with two homers and 16 RBI for LSU last season, after hitting 12 homers with 47 RBI for Oregon State the previous year. 64 Analytics rated him the 414th-best prospect in the portal, but he was a top-25 shortstop prospect coming out of high school in California in 2022.
▪ Kansas pitcher Daniel Lopez: A 12th-round pick of the Orioles last year, Lopez throws very hard but pitched only 10 ⅔ innings for the Jayhawks last season, finishing with 13 strikeouts but a 7.59 ERA. That limited workload dropped him below 1,000 on the 64 Analytics portal rankings.
▪ Wake Forest pitcher Blake Morningstar: He’s the jewel of this portal class, rated the No. 12 transfer available. He went 2-4 with an 8.61 ERA last season, but scouts love the stuff.
▪ Penn State pitcher Mason Horwat: Went 1-0 with a 5.49 ERA, but like with Morningstar and Lopez, the quality of the pitch arsenal is superior to the stats. Rated the No. 98 player in the portal.
▪ Virginia Tech pitcher Chase Swift: The No. 137 player in the portal, Swift was 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA in 2026.
▪ Stephen F. Austin pitcher Dylan Mulcahy: The No. 223 transfer, he went 3-6 with a 5.23 ERA last season.
▪ Jacksonville State pitcher Skyler Hutto: An effective closer with 12 saves and a 2.20 ERA in 2026. Was the No. 267 player in the portal.
▪ Concord pitcher Kaden Varela-Payne: Was 8-4, 4.11 ERA this year. Rated No. 677 in the portal.
▪ Barry pitcher Jack Ensell: Went 3-4 with a 4.94 ERA in 12 starts. Rated 764th among portal prospects.
▪ Pitcher Michael Covala: Went 5-0 with a 3.64 ERA at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla.
247 Sports’ Pete Nakos rated UM as the No. 8 portal winner in the country, with this comment: “J.D. Arteaga’s third season at Miami finished 39-20 and with an NCAA Tournament appearance for the second straight year. Arguably, no program was as hot in June at picking up portal commitments, with Miami currently standing at 12 commits. The Hurricanes’ top portal pickup was Wake Forest RHP Blake Morningstar, who went 9-7 with a 6.12 ERA over 139⅔ innings across three seasons.”
The key is whether Arteaga can extract more from the talented arms who have underperformed elsewhere.
This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 11:31 AM.
