We Speak Coaches

Jai Lucas Engineers a Record-Tying Turnaround at Miami — and Collects Two National Coach of the Year Honors

Published

7 months ago

April 6, 2026

One season was all Jai Lucas needed to turn Miami from the ACC’s last-place team into a national story — and the awards have followed. Lucas was named the 2026 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year, CollegeInsider.com’s award for the top first-time head coach in Division I, on April 2, and four days later the National Sports Media Association named him the Clarence “Big House” Gaines National Coach of the Year, an honor set to be presented at the NSMA’s 66th awards banquet on June 29 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The honors capped one of the biggest one-season reversals in NCAA history. Miami went from seven wins in 2024-25 to 26-9 in Lucas’s first season — a 19-win improvement that tied the NCAA record for the largest single-season turnaround. The Hurricanes went 13-5 in ACC play, earned a No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament, reached the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in program history, tied the program record with 24 regular-season wins and went 15-2 at the Watsco Center, the second-most home wins in school history — one season after winning just three conference games and finishing last in the ACC.

Lucas also became the fastest first-time head coach in the ACC to reach 20 wins since Bill Guthridge in 1997-98, getting there in 25 games, the second-fewest in league history. Voting panel member Joe Dwyer credited Lucas with changing the program’s tenor, instilling toughness and a winning mindset, and building one of the nation’s most efficient offenses: Miami shot 50.4% from the floor, best in the ACC and 10th nationally.

The turnaround was powered by three All-ACC transfers Lucas brought in: Malik Reneau, an All-ACC First Team pick who led the team with 18.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game; Tre Donaldson, a Second Team selection who averaged 16.4 points, 5.7 assists and 1.4 steals; and Ernest Udeh Jr., an All-ACC Defensive Team honoree whose 46 blocked shots came while he ranked second in the ACC at 9.2 rebounds per game. Lucas arrived at Miami after three seasons at Duke, the last two as associate head coach.

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Kevin Cash Steers the Low-Payroll Rays Back to the World Series

Published

4 days ago

October 21, 2026

We Speak Media

The Tampa Bay Rays are going back to the World Series, and they got there the way Kevin Cash teams always seem to get there: underpaid, underrated and better coached than the payroll says they should be. Cash and the Rays clinched the franchise’s third American League pennant on October 19, 2026, beating the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the ALCS at Tropicana Field, with two-run homers by trade acquisitions Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz sealing the win.

Tampa Bay finished the regular season 98-64 with the American League’s best record, and now faces the Milwaukee Brewers for the franchise’s first World Series title. The Associated Press describes the club Cash steered there as a roster built the Rays’ way: Tampa Bay opened the season with a $90.5 million payroll that ranked 26th in the majors, only three players on its 26-man ALCS roster were drafted by the team, 16 arrived in trades and four were free-agent signings.

Cash has managed the Rays since 2015 and is a two-time AL Manager of the Year over the course of his career. The AP describes the former backup catcher — a.183 career hitter over nearly a decade — as a steady presence who blends analytics with gut instinct and leans heavily on his coaching staff’s input before and during games.

That staff’s touch showed most clearly on the mound. ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta, acquired from the Mets on August 2 after going 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA in New York, went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA for Tampa Bay, was named AL Pitcher of the Month for September and went 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in the ALCS; Peralta publicly credited pitching coach Kyle Snyder, bullpen coach Jorge Moncada and bullpen catcher Charlie Valerio for his turnaround. Closer Bryan Baker, who had three career saves in four seasons when the Rays traded for him in July 2025, was developed by Snyder’s staff into a 41-save closer who added five more saves in seven scoreless postseason appearances.