At the end of the 2021-202 season, new athletic director Dan Radakovich is preparing for the first year of heading the athletics division at the University of Miami. He is cutting out his work for him. The final measurement of a college athletics program lies in its success in the field. Last year, some programs reached new heights, some had a promising upward trajectory, and some still seemed far from full potential.
One of the indicators to consider when evaluating “State of U” is Miami. NACDA Director’s Cup.. For unfamiliar cane fans, the Director’s Cup ranks all Division I schools each year by giving points for post-season success. The national championship is worth up to 100 points. No sport is more important than any other sport (the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship is worth as many points as the NCAA National Football Championship). The top 19 sports in each school are ranked (NCAA Division I’s average school field is 19.1 sports).Read more about the Director’s Cup scoring structure here..
This week we’ll cover State U in a three-part series. This Part 1 post reviews and scores non-income team sports (women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, women’s rowing). Tomorrow’s Part 2 will review and score individual sports (men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s tracks and fields, men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s diving, women’s swimming and diving, women’s golf). I will do it. Finally, Part 3 discusses the sports that generate revenue (soccer, men’s basketball, baseball) and the final results of the entire program.
Women’s Basketball: A
- Season record: 21-13 (10-8)
- Postseason: Final ACC tournamentSecond round of NCAA tournament
- Director’s Cup: 50 points
Katie Meyer did it again. Since 2011, the women’s basketball team has made nine NCAA tournaments great. After a tough start of the season, Meyer’s team rebounded and fought for the ACC Conference Championship Game (first in program history !!) and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year’s team stars included Kelsey Marshall (Sr.), an all-ACC honorable mention, and Ja’Leah Williams (Fr.), a selection from the ACC All-Freshman Team. Williams, who fought scoliosis in high school, 2022 Bob Bradley Spirit and Courage Award From ACC media. In the classroom, Marshall and Williams were also selected for the All-ACC Academic Team along with their teammates Destiny Harden (Senior). Three hurricanes have been selected since 2017-18.
Women’s basketball is one of the most consistent programs in the athletic club. The only knock is that Meyer’s team hasn’t broken through to Sweet Sixteen yet. Break that barrier or bring back the program’s first conference championship. It’s the A + season.
Women’s Volleyball: A-
- Season record: 25-5 (15-3)
- Postseason: Second Round of NCAA Tournament
- Director’s Cup: 50 points
The women’s volleyball team is quietly incorporated into a highly competitive program. Volleyball is relatively new to UM, as Miami was not on the volleyball team from 1982 to 2000. Since the current head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara was hired in 2013, Miami has won seven of the nine seasons. In three of these seasons, including last season, the cane advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The team was led by Savannah Vach (So.), The All-ACC selection of the first team, and Angela Grieve (So.) And Janice Leao (Jr.), the All-ACC selection of the second team. , And Peyman Yardimci (So.). Fr.), ACC All Freshman Team. Leo had a particularly strong season as she was also an all-America prestigious reference and was elected to the National Women’s College National Team this year. Grieve, Yardimici, and Priscilla Hernandez (Sr.) have also been nominated for the All-ACC Academic Team.
Canes tend to be less competitive, but struggle to fight the elite team. Finished 0-4 against the ranked competition last season. The team is getting closer to making mainstream news and could be very successful next season when the majority of the winners are back.
Women’s Soccer: C-
- Season record: 4-12 (1-9)
- Postseason: None
- Director’s Cup: 0 points
Hurricane’s soccer is struggling. This year it has surpassed the 1-11 mark from the previous season, but the women’s soccer team has not entered the championship season since the ’16 -’17 campaign.If you squint, there are some bright spots-Selena Fortich (Sr.) and Melissa Dagenais (Jr.) have formed the All-ACC Academic Team next year. Recruitment class Contains solid talent. But overall, this is the only team sport that has consistently lost.
Women’s Boat: B-
- Postseason: 5th in the ACC Championship
- Director’s Cup: 0 points
Some Miami athletic programs have a rich history of championships and Americans, but Women’s Rowing is not one of them. Women’s Rowing failed to compete in the NCAA tournament for 22 teams, but this team is on the rise. Miami finished fifth in the ACC. This was the best finish in women’s rowing history. That effort earned Miami the first CRCA ranking in program history. It ranked 20th in the final vote.
Alyssa Bacchus (Fr.) and Constance Stirling (So.) Won the first and second All-ACC honors, respectively, and finished the first Varsity 8 boat in 4th place. Bacchus was the first Miami rower to be elected to all conference teams of the first team in the history of the program. In addition, a total of six rowers have won the All-ACC Academic honor.
Longtime head coach Dave Anderson left the team after the season, and Miami hired Alabama’s assistant and team Canada veteran James Markay as new head coaches to set the highest benchmark last year. intention). The program is on the rise, but teams need to enter NCAA tournaments and earn Director’s Cup points in order to score B or better.
