Jai Lucas Inks Second Five-Star Prospect for Miami Basketball

Miami men’s basketball head coach Jai Lucas announced Wednesday the signing of five-star forward Caleb Gaskins to the Hurricanes’ 2026 recruiting class.

Gaskins becomes the second-highest rated recruit in program history in the 247Sports Composite rankings and is tabbed as the No. 9 prospect by Rivals, No. 16 by ESPN and No. 23 by 247Sports. 

“We are excited to have Caleb and his family be a part of our program and what we’re building here at the University of Miami,” Lucas said. “Caleb is one of the top prospects in the country and represents everything we want to be about as a program both as a basketball player and as a young man. I couldn’t be more thrilled that he decided to be a Hurricane. Recruiting the state of Florida, especially south Florida, has been a goal of mine since I arrived and I’m excited that we are keeping the best players home.”

During his junior season at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Gaskins helped lead the Explorers to the national championship, averaging 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. 

While competing on the Nike EYBL circuit with Nightrydas Elite last spring, he averaged 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds across 15 games.

Gaskins averaged 20.0 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting nearly 60-percent inside the arc at the Peach Jam in July. 

Gaskins has participated in multiple USA Basketball minicamps since 2022 and was recently invited to the 2025 USA Men’s U19 National Team training camp. He was also a finalist for the 2024 USA U17 Men’s National Team.

In less than a year at the helm, Lucas has now signed three of the top 12 recruits in program history — Gaskins (No. 2), Shelton Henderson (No. 4) and Dante Allen (No. 12).

Courtesy of Miami Athletics

How to Watch: Elon at Miami

Who: Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Gators

When: 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Watsco Center, Coral Gables, Fla.

TV: ACCN

Radio: FM 104.3 WQAM

Last Outing, Elon: The Pheniox bounced back with another victory as their leading scorer continued to keep his average high, scoring 29 points to beat Gardner-Webb.

Last Outing, Hurricanes: The Hurricanes failed their first test of the season against No. 10 Florida, dropping their first game of the season. Malik Reneau finished with a double-double, but a terrible shooting night from the team kept them from upsetting the defending national champions.