Miami Hurricanes transfer arrival Matthew Cleveland: “I left Florida State to go somewhere that I knew I could have winning”

If the Miami Hurricanes are going to reach the Final Four once again in 2023-24 … or beyond … a lot will probably hinge on the performance of Florida State transfer shooting guard/small forward Matthew Cleveland.

A year ago it was transfers that helped spur the run – Nijel Pack, Norchad Omier and Jordan Miller – and the prior year transfers also were instrumental in leading the way to the Elite Eight with Miller and Charlie Moore.

“I was very aware (of UM’s success with transfers),” Cleveland said during an in-house Miami interview. “I did my research from years back once I got in the transfer portal just to see how successful they’d been.”

He said he went as far back as Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan in terms of UM’s success with transfers.

Cleveland says that from the jump when he entered the portal Miami was either “No. 1 or close to No. 1.”

He said Miami was his first visit and that helped seal the deal. Also helping: Cleveland said he noticed the jump Miller – who has a similar body type – made in his play from Year 1 to Year 2 under Jim Larranaga.

Now Cleveland is a new big piece for a team that lost ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong as well as Miller (both second round NBA Draft picks).

Returning starters next season are the aforementioned Pack and Omier along with Wooga Poplar.

Last season Pack averaged 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal in 31.6 minutes per game while Omier averaged 13.1 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 57.4 percent from the floor. Poplar should have a bigger scoring role this year after averaging 8.4 points in 23.5 minutes.

Cleveland?

As a sophomore this past season, he played in 30 games for the Seminoles, starting all of them, and averaged a team-high 13.8 points per game. He was second on the team with 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 44.5% from the floor and 35% from the 3-point line.

He chose Miami over Auburn and Missouri and was one of the few bright spots for a relatively disappointing Florida State team during the 2022–2023 season after the team notched just nine wins and finished 9–23. He will give the Hurricanes a ready-made replacement in the rotation for Miller.

“I left Florida State to go somewhere that I knew I could have winning,” said the 6-7 Cleveland, who has two years of eligibility remaining. “Seeing on TV the last two years, seeing them win and win at an extremely high level was really eye-opening.”

Canes hoops fans probably remember the last time Cleveland played in the Watsco Center. He nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap a 25-point comeback by the Seminoles over UM.

But now he’ll be wearing the orange and green after choosing Larranaga and the ‘Canes. He says that when he faced Miami the last two years he recognized how it could be a system he’d fit in with perfectly.

“It was easily appealing,” Cleveland said.

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