Miami forward Malik Reneau has landed on the 2027 Karl Malone Award Watch List, giving the Hurricanes another early-season marker of the senior’s place among the nation’s top power forwards.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Thursday that Reneau is one of 20 candidates on the watch list for the award, now in its 13th year. The honor goes to the top power forward in NCAA Division I men’s basketball and is named for the Class of 2010 Hall of Famer and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player.
Reneau is back for his second season with Miami after a strong 2025-26 run that brought All-ACC First Team and NABC All-Southeast District First Team recognition. The Miami native started every one of the Hurricanes’ 35 games and led the team with 18.9 points per game while also averaging 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He shot 54 percent from the field and 78.8 percent at the line.
His production came in bunches, too. Reneau reached at least 20 points 18 times and posted nine double-doubles, with six of those coming in games where he scored 20 or more. He put up a season-best 28 points in a win over Pitt and followed with 23 points and a season-high 12 rebounds in a victory at Florida State.
The preseason recognition hasn’t stopped there. Earlier this month, Reneau was named to the Preseason All-ACC Second Team, and Miami was selected to finish fourth in the conference’s preseason poll. He’s one of three returning starters on a Hurricanes team that opens the 2026-27 season ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Preseason Poll and No. 17 in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll.
Fans can begin supporting Reneau through voting on Friday, Oct. 30. The watch list will be trimmed to 10 in February, then narrowed again to five finalists in March before the winner is chosen by Malone and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
In Other News...
Miami Heads To UNC With One Injury Concern Still Lingering
Miamis injury picture remains a little messy heading into the trip to North Carolina, with six players already ruled out on the latest report. Wide receiver Joshua Moore and running back CharMar Brown are among the absences, while the Hurricanes will still be watching the status of a couple of notable pieces after freshman Milan Parris and veteran cornerback Xavier Lucas were not listed but continue to carry injury concerns.
That leaves a few moving parts for a game that already comes with some uncertainty on the other sideline, where UNC is dealing with its own defensive absences and questions. For Miami, the larger issue is less about the names already sidelined and more about whether the group it expects to have available can get through the week without another late setback. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Could Be Miamis Biggest Unbeaten Test Yet
Miamis unbeaten start has put it in a small and sturdy national club as Halloween weekend arrives, alongside Utah and UCLA as the only remaining FBS teams still at 7-0. For the Hurricanes, the early success has come from a team that has looked sharp on both sides of the ball, enough to keep it in the conversation as the schedule tightens and the margin for error shrinks.
The next stretch will tell much more about how real that start is, and Notre Dame looms as the kind of test that can reshape the seasons tone in a hurry. Projections still leave room for a strong finish, even one that lands Miami at 11-1, but the upcoming path also brings the sort of opponent that can expose whether this unbeaten run is built to last. [Read more 🡒]
Mario Cristobal Finds Himself In Another ACC Flashpoint After Miami Rout
After Miamis rout, the postgame scene briefly drew attention for reasons beyond the scoreboard when Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi was asked about a handshake with Mario Cristobal. Narduzzi used his Monday news conference to push back on any suggestion of animosity, saying the exchange was friendly and that he even told Cristobal to go win the national championship. For a Hurricanes program that has spent plenty of time in ACC crosscurrents, it was another reminder that the conversation around Miami rarely stays on the field for long.
Narduzzi also acknowledged the offseason friction that had lingered around accusations tied to transfer portal recruiting, which had already added heat to this matchup. But he framed this latest moment differently, describing the handshake as a positive one rather than another chapter in the tension. For Miami, its the kind of sideline subplot that can follow Cristobal around even after a dominant win, especially when conference relationships have already been tested. [Read more 🡒]