The Miami Hurricanes are entering the program’s first season under new head coach Jai Lucas, and on Thursday, Lucas landed the first five-star recruit of his early tenure with the commitment of big man Caleb Gaskins, as per Travis Branham of 247 Sports. Gaskins is the first player from the class of 2026 to commit to the Hurricanes.
With his commitment to Miami, Caleb Gaskins opted to stay home over overs from other major Division programs such as defending national champion Florida, and Texas A&M. Gaskins plays his high school basketball at nearby Columbus High School where he will be finishing up his senior year this season.
Gaskins told Branham that his goal of playing in the NBA was a key factor in choosing Miami.
“I just felt like that is the best fit for me,” Gaskins said. “It’s the best fit for me and my family and where I want to go as far as my game in getting to the NBA.”
Gaskins is an intriguing power forward who is able to space the floor with his shooting, as well as being able to score inside. He is also a versatile defensive player. He is considered the top high school basketball player in Florida.
But Gaskins won’t join the Hurricanes until the 2026-27 season, and so their focus becomes the start of the 2025-26 season. Miami will open the year at home on Monday, Nov. 3 against Jacksonville of the ASUN in non-conference play.
Miami hired Jai Lucas as the program’s next head coach following longtime coach Jim Larrañaga’s abrupt retirement last December. Assistant coach Bill Courtney finished the 2024-25 season as interim head coach.
Prior to joining Miami, Lucas spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Duke under Jon Scheyer, including two seasons as associate head coach. He got his start in coaching in 2016 as an assistant at Texas until 2020 when he left to become an assistant at Kentucky. He was at Kentucky from 2020-2022 when Duke hired him.
