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ESPN Staff Writer- Basketball recruiting insider.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.
Miami men's basketball coach Jai Lucas has agreed a new five-year contract, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday, following the Hurricanes' record-tying turnaround in Lucas' first season in Coral Gables.
Lucas, who took over at Miami near the end of his third season on Jon Scheyer's staff at Duke, guided the Hurricanes back to the NCAA tournament in his first season with the program. They finished 26-9 and beat Missouri in the first round of the tournament before falling to Purdue in the second round.
Miami's 19-win turnaround from Jim Larranaga's final season tied an NCAA record for the largest year-over-year improvement, while the Hurricanes' 24 regular-season wins matched a program record.
Lucas, 37, had four years left on his original five-year deal. Miami, as a private university, is not required to release contract information and did not comment on the extension.
He inherited a program with zero returnees from the previous regime, but the first-year head coach landed four impact transfers from the portal -- including All-ACC selections Malik Reneau and Tre Donaldson -- and two top-50 recruits. Miami opened the season with 15 wins in its first 17 games en route to a third-place finish in the ACC.
Prior to taking over at Miami, Lucas had established himself as one of the top assistant coaches in the country, architecting one of the country's top defenses at Duke in 2024-25 and consistently recruiting high-level talent during his time on staffs at Duke, Kentucky and Texas.
He is the son of former Maryland All-American and No. 1 NBA draft pick John Lucas II, also a longtime NBA coach and assistant.
Lucas has reloaded Miami's roster this offseason, with four of its top five scorers out of eligibility. The Hurricanes landed two of the top-30 transfers in the country in Acaden Lewis (Villanova) and Somto Cyril (Georgia), while also bringing in top-10 recruit Caleb Gaskins. Potential NBA prospect Shelton Henderson also returns after starting all 35 games as a freshman.
The reworked agreement with Lucas came around the same time as Miami getting a new deal done with football coach Mario Cristobal on the heels of last season's 13-3 record and run to the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Miami was one of nine schools to be among the final AP Top 25 in both football and men's basketball during the 2025-26 season.
Lucas' new deal was first reported by The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.