Hurricanes Weekly

University of Miami Head Women's Basketball Coach Katie Meier talks to Joe Z about how last year's season ended with a fun tournament run and also about a big offseason of recruiting. 

Joe Z and DBJ take a look at the Canes Football offseason and preview whats to come over the summer.

2021 FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA, Collegiate Baseball
2021 ALL-SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM, UTL

*Freshman (2021 – Southeastern Louisiana): Started all 55 games in which he appeared…Paced the Southland Conference with 23 stolen bases…Hit .254 and led the Lions with nine home runs, 16 HBP and stolen bases…Tied for the most triples on the team with two…Finished second on the club with 45 runs scored and 43 RBI…Blasted first homer of the season, drove in then-career-high five RBI and swiped three bases against Mississippi Valley (Feb. 21)…Recorded career-best 4-for-4 performance and plated three runs at Arizona (Feb. 26)…Posted first career multi-home run game and tallied career-high six RBI in Southland Conference tournament against New Orleans (May 28).

*True Freshman (2020 – Southeastern Louisiana): Started all 16 games for the Lions in shortened 2020 college baseball season…Led the team with .313 batting average, .521 on-base percentage, .441 slugging percentage, nine runs scored, two triples, two home runs, and four HBP…Ranked second on the squad with 15 hits, seven walks and five stolen bases…Tied for the third-most home runs and fourth-most stolen bases in the Southland Conference…Ranked ninth in the Southland in slugging percentage…Posted a season-best three-hit performance against UL Lafayette (Feb. 18)…Launched first career home runs and tallied season-high three RBI against Stony Brook (Feb. 18)…Smacked solo homer at LSU (March 3).

High School: Four-year varsity letterman at University High School…Two-time All-State, three-time All-Metro and four-time All-District honoree on baseball diamond…Twice named district MVP…Owns school record for hits, doubles and HBP…Also played football at University, leading the Cubs to back-to-back state titles on the gridiron…Two-time All-State, two-time All-Metro and three-time All-District selection in football…Garnered district defensive MVP recognition…Led University in tackles each of his last three seasons as middle linebacker.

Personal: Son of Monte and Barbara Burke…Has an older brother, Robert, and a younger sister, Jenna…Father played football at Tulane…Brother played baseball at Southeastern Louisiana…Intends to major in psychology.

Amy Deem, who has spent the previous 31 seasons coaching the Hurricanes, is the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country at the University of Miami.

Deem was promoted to her current position in 2008 after serving as the head women’s coach since June 1990. At the time of her promotion, she became just the sixth woman to oversee both the men’s and women’s track and cross country programs at a Division I school.

In her 29th year with the Canes, Deem coached the women’s team to a second-place finish in the ACC indoor Championships, featuring Debbie Ajagbe who won both the women’s weight throw and shot put to earn ACC Field MVP honors. It’s the second time in two years Miami earned the award. Freshman Jacious Sears earned 14 points for the Canes in her first ever conference meet finishing second in the 60 and third in the 200. The Canes sent three women to the 60m finals, and three to the shot put finals, which scored 21 points.

Deem coached Miami’s 17th national track and field champion as Michelle Atherley claimed the NCAA Indoor Pentathlon title with a program record and ACC record point total at 4,547. Miami earned its fourth title in four years at the ACC Indoor Championships, with the likes of Brittny Ellis, Kayla Johnson, Debbie Ajagbe, Selina Dantzler, Tiara McMinn and the 4×400 all taking the podium. Atherely was also named ACC Field MVP of the Indoor Championships.

Later in the season, Atherley went on to defend her outdoor ACC heptathlon title and finished third at Nationals in the event. Debbie Ajagbe, Tiara McMinn, the 4×400, Kevin Arreaga, Raheem Chambers, Samantha Gonzalez all made their way to Nationals for the outdoor season to close out yet another successful track campaign under Deem.

Deem guided a youthful team to the 2018 ACC Women’s Outdoor Championship, Miami’s first since 2006. This was the third conference title in three years after claiming the Indoor Championship in both 2016 and 2017. She was named the 2018 ACC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the year for the third time, her seventh overall ACC coaching honor.

Under Deem’s guidance, Symone Mason was named the 2018 ACC Women’s Track MVP, while Michelle Atherley was named the ACC Women’s Field MVP for 2018. The pair won six of Miami’s seven individual events conference titles at the 2018 ACC Outdoor Championships.

Miami totaled 11 total medals at the Outdoor Championships: seven gold, one silver and three bronze. The Canes also picked up 21 All-ACC awards, including 17 spots on the All-ACC first team and saw eight Canes make their way to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The Canes women were ranked as high as No. 15 nationally during the season and earned nine USTFCCCA All-American honors.

The Indoor season also produced 12 different student-athletes earning 13 All-ACC honors. Atherley finished sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championship in the pentathlon and was named a first team All American.  The indoor season saw Kayla Johnson break the Top 5 list in UM history in both the 600 meters and 800 meters, while Anne den Otter broke Latrice Shaw’s 1000m time set in 1998. Amy Taintor finished her final season with the Canes’ third-best Pentathlon finish with 3,967 points.

The 2016 track and field season was monumental in Hurricanes history, as the Miami women won their third ACC Indoor Championship. Deem was named ACC Coach of the Year and USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year for the 2016 indoor season.

The Canes had six women qualify for the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships, with Alysha Newman and Dakota Dailey-Harris earning First Team All-America honors and four other Canes being named to the second team.

Shakima Wimbley was named ACC Women’s Indoor Track Most Outstanding Performer after winning the 2 ...

DBJ sits down with University of Miami Head Football Coach Mario Cristobal to talk about offseason preparation before summer camp.

University of Miami head men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga announced Thursday the hiring of Preston Greene as the program’s new strength & conditioning coach.

Greene possesses 27 years of experience, including working with men’s basketball programs at Power Five institutions for the last 14. He most recently spent 11 seasons at the University of Florida.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Jim Larrañaga for the opportunity to come work at such a prestigious institution with a top-notch basketball program,” Greene said. “I’m grateful to him for his confidence in my abilities and I’m so excited to be here at the University of Miami. I look forward to working with our players to help get them in the best possible shape to perform at the absolute highest level. My goal is to put them in prime position to succeed every single time they take the court and will do everything in my power to make that happen.”

From August 2011 until his hire at Miami, Greene served as the director of strength and conditioning at Florida, primarily working with men’s basketball, while overseeing the men’s golf and men’s tennis strength efforts. The first five years came under the direction of two-time NCAA champion head coach Billy Donovan.

Over Greene’s 11 years in Gainesville, Fla., the Gators went 249-127, averaging over 22 wins per season. Florida made the NCAA Tournament seven times, winning at least one game in each appearance and advancing to four Elite Eights in a six-year span. That stretch included a spot in the 2014 Final Four during a tremendous 36-3 (18-0 SEC) campaign.

Greene aided the Gators to the SEC regular season crown in 2013 and 2014, as well as the SEC Tournament trophy in 2014. He coached multiple future NBA players including Bradley Beal, a three-time All-Star, and Dorian Finney-Smith. Greene also heavily advised the design efforts of Florida’s 2015 basketball weight room renovation.

Before going to Florida, Greene worked as the head basketball strength & conditioning coach at Clemson University for two years. Serving under a different coach each season, Greene aided the Tigers to a pair of 20-win campaigns, a 43-23 overall record and two NCAA Tournament bids.

“Preston Greene is one of the most well-regarded individuals in the strength & conditioning industry. His resume, quite simply, speaks for itself,” Larrañaga said. “Preston is an expert in his craft with decades of experience working with high-level collegiate basketball players, leading them to myriad successes. He is also already familiar with both the state of Florida and the ACC from his past stops. We’re thrilled to have Preston join our program and know he will have a significant impact on our players.”

In 2008-09, Greene was the head men’s basketball performance coach at Stanford University. The Cardinal went 20-14 and reached the CBI semifinals in Johnny Dawkins’ first year at the helm.

Greene got his start in men’s basketball during a five-year stint, 2003-08, at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he also aided the men’s golf team. During his time in the Queen City, the 49ers logged four postseason berths, three 20-win seasons, two NCAA Tournament trips, one Conference USA regular season title and an overall record of 95-60.

In January 2001, Greene got his first full-time job at the University of Arizona, where he worked for two-and-a-half years as an assistant strength, speed and conditioning coach. Primarily responsible for women’s basketball and women’s soccer, Greene also aided with football, as well as directed the department’s nutrition and supplementation program.

Greene got his master’s degree in applied kinesiology and sports management from the University of M ...

2021 FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA, Collegiate Baseball
2021 ACC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM, 3B
2021 ALL-GAINESVILLE REGIONAL, 3B

Freshman (2021): Made 53 starts primarily at third base…Led Miami with 13 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and 45 RBI… Batted .284 with team-high 44 runs scored…Led team with .532 slugging percentage and posted an .874 OPS…Ranked second on team with 17 multi-hit games and led team with 13 multi-RBI performances…Tied for team-best 11-game hitting streak…Doubled and scored twice in a 2-for-4 collegiate debut at preseason No. 1 Florida (Feb. 19)…Tripled, scored two runs and drove in a run as part of a 3-for-5 day to take series at No. 1 Florida (Feb. 21)…Had a hit and RBI in home debut vs. Virginia Tech (Feb. 26)…Went 2-for-3 with an RBI in win over Virginia Tech (Feb. 27)…Hit first career home run as part of a 2-for-3, 3 RBI game vs. Virginia Tech (Feb. 28)…Doubled and drove in a run in win at NC State (Mar. 6)…Had first multi-homer game of career in win at NC State (Mar. 7), going 3-for-5 with two RBI and two homers…Singled and drove in two runs in win over FAU (Mar. 9)…Had two hits and an RBI in two-game sweep of Wake Forest (Mar. 12-13)…Doubled twice and drove in three runs in win at FGCU (Mar. 17)…Homered and drove in two runs in series opener vs. Virginia (Mar. 26)…Hit a homer and drove in two RBI in win at Virginia (Mar. 28)…Doubled, tripled and drove in two runs in win at FIU (Mar. 31)…Tripled and drove in a run in win over Duke (Apr. 2)…Went 2-for-4 with a homer in sweep-clinching victory over Duke (Apr. 4)…Homered and drove in two runs in win over FIU (Apr. 7)…Went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI at Pitt (Apr. 10)…Walked twice, drove in a run and scored a run in series-opening win over Clemson (Apr. 16)…Went 2-for-5 with a homer and 2 RBI in victory over Clemson (Apr. 17)…Homered in sweep-clinching win over Clemson (Apr. 18)…Doubled and drove in a run in second game of doubleheader at North Carolina (Apr. 23)…Doubled and scored a run in win over FGCU (Apr. 27)…Went 2-for-4 in win at Boston College (May 1)…Drove in two runs in finale at Boston College (May 2)…Went 1-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in win over App State (May 8)…Was 2-for-3 with a double and a season-high four RBI in sweep-clinching win over App State (May 9)…Went 2-for-5 with an RBI in win over Georgia Tech (May 15)…Doubled in series-opening win at Louisville (May 20)…Went 1-for-2 with a homer and two RBI in victory at Louisville (May 21)…Had a base hit and a run scored in sweep-clinching win at Louisville (May 22)…Had two doubles and an RBI in ACC tournament debut vs. Duke (May 27)…Doubled vs. Florida State in ACC tournament (May 28)…Had a base hit in NCAA tournament debut vs. South Alabama (June 4)…Singled and drove in a run vs. USF (June 5)…Went 2-for-2 with a homer in season finale vs. South Alabama (June 6)…Named to All-Gainesville Regional team after batting .444 with a homer, a run scored and two RBI.

High School: Four-year varsity letterman at Braddock, where he was a three-time captain…Named a 2019 Under Armour and Perfect Game All-American…Selected to 2019 18U USA National Team…Hit .359 with 19 doubles, three triples, eight homers and 50 RBI in four-year varsity career…Batted .500 with two doubles, four homers and 14 RBI in shortened 2020 season…Hit .321 with five extra-base hits as a junior…Posted a .415 batting average with eight doubles and two homers as a sophomore.

Personal: Son of Andy Morales and Daiyana Castillo…Has two siblings: brother, Yandy, and sister, A ...

University of Miami Head Baseball Coach Gino Dimare sits down with Joe Z to talk about the season. 

ESPN.com college football writer Andrea Adelson joins Joe Z to talk about her interview with Mario Cristobal and Mark Emmert stepping down as head of the NCAA

University of Miami Head Baseball Coach Gino Dimare sits down with Joe Z to talk about the season.