Miami’s Starting Five Looks Set. Predicting the Next Five Is Where It Gets Interesting.

The projected starting five looks relatively clear. Luke Skaljac and Evan Ipsaro give Travis Steele two proven point guards he can put on the floor together, and the rest of the first unit falls into place around that pairing. Justin Kirby on the wing, Almar Atlason at power forward and Antwone Woolfolk at center is the lineup Hype & Honor expects to see first. That part of the picture is not the argument.

The argument is what happens after those five. A regulation game has 200 minutes to distribute, and this roster is deeper than that number. Steele has historically been comfortable with a nine-player rotation and has left the door open to exploring ten. Players will earn trust and minutes through productive practices. That nine-versus-ten question is the real tension of Miami's 2026-27 depth, which is why this feature exists as a visual roster guide rather than another full-dress season preview. For the broader 2026-27 case, read our related coverage, Miami Basketball Doesn’t Need Another 31–0 Season.

Hype & Honor Projected Starting Five

All lineups, depth-chart positions and minute estimates are Hype & Honor projections, not official coaching decisions.

1. Projected point guardLuke Skaljac, No. 3
2. Projected secondary point guardEvan Ipsaro, No. 2
3. Projected wingJustin Kirby, No. 6
4. Projected power forwardAlmar Atlason, No. 11
5. Projected centerAntwone Woolfolk, No. 13

That pairing is the foundation. The court above is a Hype & Honor projection of how Steele can open games if Skaljac and Ipsaro share the backcourt and the returning pieces around them hold. It is not a posted Steele lineup.

Projected Depth Chart

Basketball positions overlap, and this chart is a projection of primary roles rather than a rigid substitution sequence. Ipsaro can play next to Skaljac or spell him. Elam and Waltz occupy different jobs on the wing. Copeland and Robbins are both paths behind Woolfolk. Every listed candidate is placed in a primary projected lane, while Fresh, Stowers and Horton could still move between roles as the season develops.

Projected depth chart

Position	Projected starter	Primary backup	Other candidate
PG	Luke Skaljac	Evan Ipsaro	Stevie Elam
SG	Evan Ipsaro	Stevie Elam	Anthony Fresh
Wing	Justin Kirby	Kyle Waltz	Leshawn Stowers
PF	Almar Atlason	Rich Rolf	Alan Horton
C	Antwone Woolfolk	Preston Copeland	Tyler Robbins

Position

PG

Projected starter

Luke Skaljac

Primary backup

Evan Ipsaro

Other candidate

Stevie Elam

Position

SG

Projected starter

Evan Ipsaro

Primary backup

Stevie Elam

Other candidate

Anthony Fresh

Position

Wing

Projected starter

Justin Kirby

Primary backup

Kyle Waltz

Other candidate

Leshawn Stowers

Position

PF

Projected starter

Almar Atlason

Primary backup

Rich Rolf

Other candidate

Alan Horton

Position

C

Projected starter

Antwone Woolfolk

Primary backup

Preston Copeland

Other candidate

Tyler Robbins

Projected 200-Minute Rotation

Two hundred minutes sounds like a lot until a roster this deep starts claiming them. The model below is an editorial estimate for a regulation game, built to show how a nine-player core can eat most of the night while a tenth player still gets a look.

Editorial estimates for a regulation game. These are not announced minutes from Travis Steele or Miami Athletics.

• Projected starterProjected reserve

• Luke SkaljacStarter

  30 projected minutes

• Evan IpsaroStarter

  28 projected minutes

• Almar AtlasonStarter

  27 projected minutes

• Justin KirbyStarter

  24 projected minutes

• Antwone WoolfolkStarter

  23 projected minutes

• Stevie ElamReserve

  20 projected minutes

• Kyle WaltzReserve

  16 projected minutes

• Rich RolfReserve

  13 projected minutes

• Preston CopelandReserve

  13 projected minutes

• Tyler RobbinsReserve

  6 projected minutes

Total: 200 projected minutes

Where the Rotation Gets Interesting

The starters can look settled and the minutes behind them can still scramble. These three battles are where Steele's nine-versus-ten question becomes real.

Preston Copeland Scouting Panel

Preston Copeland · 2025-26 Ball State

30

Games played

24

Starts

4.4

Rebounds per game

62.5%

Field-goal shooting · 60-96

18.7

Minutes per game

Source: Official Ball State Preston Copeland biography · Official Miami Preston Copeland biography

A 6-foot-9 sophomore who already started 24 games at the MAC level is not a developmental extra. Copeland rebounded, finished at 62.5 percent and logged 18.7 minutes a night for Ball State. That résumé makes him a legitimate candidate for immediate Miami minutes behind Woolfolk, even if Steele has not named a backup center.

Down the Pipeline: Miami’s Next Wave

• No. 1 · Freshman guard

  Anthony Fresh

  Officially listed at 6-foot-4

  His official Miami biography reports 20.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals as a high school junior, with 60 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from three. The scoring upside is real. He does not need starter usage on night one to matter.

• No. 00 · Freshman F/C

  Alan Horton

  Officially listed at 6-foot-9

  The official roster lists Horton at 240 pounds out of St. Francis de Sales in Toledo. His Miami biography cites 11.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and a 59-block junior season. The physical tools and mobility are there. Whether they force rotation minutes is the question.

• No. 20 · Sophomore forward

  Tyler Robbins

  Officially listed at 6-foot-10

  Robbins appeared in 27 games for Miami during 2025-26. He offers returning size and a potential stretch element, without an established shooting résumé that should be overstated here.

• No. 5 · Sophomore forward

  Preston Copeland

  Prior Ball State starter

  Copeland is unusually experienced for a next-wave label. The scouting panel above is the fuller statistical case. This card is the takeaway: he is already competing for frontcourt minutes, not waiting on them.

Leshawn Stowers gives Miami another guard option capable of pressuring the ball and creating competition in practice. The official roster lists him as a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman, which means the backcourt has more than one young player who can keep the established names honest without needing a promised rotation seat.

Foul trouble, ordinary player development, matchup needs and strong early performances could all alter this projection. That is the point of a depth chart published before Game 1. It is a model of the present argument, not a promise that October's order survives January.