It was a good 2026 campaign for Miami (FL), albeit an underwhelming one. One year after the Hurricanes fell short against Louisville in the Super Regionals, Miami won 39 games, more than in 2025. However, injuries and a brick wall from Troy stopped the school from getting past the Regionals. Still, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in Miami.
The Returnees
Last season provided an opportunity for Miami’s freshman hitters and pitchers to carve out a role. Several took that opportunity and ran with it.
Catcher Alonzo Alvarez and outfielder Dylan Dubovik, now sophomores, are back for 2027. Alvarez slashed .341/.439/.551 with six home runs and 21 extra-base hits for Miami (FL) in 2026. Dubovik, meanwhile, slashed .312/.357/.507 with seven home runs and 13 extra-base hits. A good year for one of Miami’s top freshman adds from the summer of ’25.
What was a blemish on Dubovik’s 2026 season was the high swing-and-miss rate in the Cape Cod League season. He only slashed .172/.227/.238 with 42 strikeouts for Orleans; the latter figure was second-most in the CCBL (Tyler Myatt of Tennessee had 52).
Miami (FL)’s group of returning hitters also includes Vance Sheahan, who posted a .376 on-base percentage in 2026, plus Fabio Peralta, Michael Torres, and Gabriel Milano. Torres (22.9% Whiff%) posted one of the lower swing-and-miss rates in the CCBL, while Fabio Peralta stole 19 bases for Falmouth.
As for the pitching staff, AJ Ciscar and Lazaro Collera headline a pitching staff that has a healthy mix of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Both juniors in 2027, Ciscar (76) and Collera (70), finished in the top three among Miami pitchers last year in strikeouts.
For Ciscar, it’s a fairly simple pitch mix: a true low-90s sinker, coupled with a changeup and sweeping slider, two pitches that play very well off the sinker.
It’s a bit of a different look compared to Collera, a fellow right-hander with a riding, low-to-mid-90s fastball, along with a harder, low-80s curveball.
The school also welcomed back senior TJ Coats, who struck out 34 over 38 innings out of the bullpen for the Hurricanes. Sophomore Jack Durso is one of several Upstate New York/Long Island pitchers on the club, and he was a top bullpen option last year. Durso struck out 38 over 26.2 IP as a freshman in 2026.
However, his 20.2% Whiff% in the Cape Cod League was one of the lowest among pitchers this past summer.
Other notable returning pitchers are Brixton Lofgren and sophomore Sebastian Santos-Olson, the latter of whom received rope in the rotation last spring.
The Newcomers
Miami (FL) lost some heavy hitters over the summer. Jake Ogden and Derek Williams, both seniors last year, are gone. Daniel Cuvet missed time last year, and yet was still one of the club’s most productive hitters. His standout collegiate career ended when he signed with the Nationals, while NC State transfer Alex Sosa was grabbed by the Athletics.
The big transfer portal addition was Trent Caraway, who is now with his third school in as many years. Caraway stayed in college after a good, yet shortened, 2025 as a draft-eligible sophomore with Oregon State. Last season, he was one of LSU‘s top transfer additions.
Caraway only played 30 games for the Tigers in 2026, and slashed just .243/.321/.392. He’ll take his lumps at the plate and then some, and there’s some pop there. It’s just a matter of whether or not Caraway can put it together.
The other big name amongst the transfer pool additions was Blake Morningstar from Wake Forest. Now a senior, Morningstar was a rising name in 2025, thanks to a mid-90s fastball and interesting secondary stuff. That year, he led the Demon Deacons in innings pitched (79) and strikeouts (93).
But last season, Morningstar had a very down season. After he allowed 10 home runs in 2025, the now-senior conceded 13 and posted an 8.61 ERA in 12 appearances last year.
He wasn’t the only add from an ACC school. Former VaTech pitcher Chase Swift struck out 38 over 22.1 IP and posted a sub-4.00 ERA. Swift doesn’t throw hard, capping out at around 88-89 MPH. But he also showed off a slow, mid-70s changeup.
Mason Horwat is a heavy sinkerballer who induced a lot of groundballs over three years with Penn State. Horwat worked as both a starter and reliever, although he never posted a low ERA with the Nittany Lions.
Miami (FL) also has 11 freshmen on the roster. Predictably, the Hurricanes couldn’t get Jacob Lombard or Gio Rojas, both first-rounders in 2026, to campus. But the school did get Rookie Shepard. All-around talent is Shepard, a well-known name among the high school showcase scene.
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