UM Star Basketball Coaches
Both of University of Miami’s head basketball coaches have had long, illustrious careers going back to their college days.
Women’s basketball coach Katie Meier is considered one of the greatest athletes ever to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, earning numerous accolades as a basketball player at Duke University in the late ‘80s. In 2005, she joined the Hurricanes, continuing an impressive NCAA coaching run, and is now UM’s winningest coach of all-time in either the men’s or women’s basketball programs with 324 wins. Meier was AP’s National Coach of the Year in 2011 and has now coached five All-Americans-turned WNBA draft picks over the course of her time at Miami.
Men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga graduated from Providence College in 1971 and immediately began a robust career coaching various NCAA men’s basketball teams. In 2011, he came to Coral Gables to coach the Hurricanes, leading them to six NCAA tournament appearances and an ACC tournament title in 2013. He is the winningest coach in the UM men’s program’s history and a two-time ACC Coach of the Year.
Latest Achievement
During the 2022-23 season, Coach Larrañaga led the men’s team to the Final Four for the first time in program history on top of winning the ACC Championship for only the second time ever. Coach Meier, meanwhile, led the women’s team to the Elite Eight for the first time during the same year, garnering the twelfth postseason berth in her 18-year Hurricanes career. As a result of this historic success (no other school has had both teams make it to the Elite Eight), both coaches are set to receive contract renewals in the coming weeks.
What They Say
“The most enjoyable aspect of my job is being around young men who are highly dedicated to the game of basketball, devoting their time to their passion, and helping them reach their goals,” says Larrañaga. “We accomplished so many firsts in Miami basketball history… I’m constantly asked if I’m going to retire. Instead of retiring, I’ve signed a contract extension. I love coaching and I’m going to be here a long time.”
“It’s like lightning in a bottle when you make a run like that,” says Meier about her team’s playoffs journey. “Your players’ confidence goes up. Our backs were against the wall
and we just kept kicking the door down. The gutsy performances in close games, in [those] big moments… it was awesome. As tough of a schedule as we always have, if you win three games in a row anytime in the season, it’s a great run. But to do it in March and to pick up a game in the ACC tournament as well… that’s [memorable].”