Elevated MET receptor tyrosine kinase correlates with poor outcome in breast cancer, yet the reasons for this are poorly understood. We thus generated a transgenic mouse model targeting expression of an oncogenic Met receptor (Met^mt) to the mammary epithelium. We show that Met^mt induces mammary tumors with multiple phenotypes. These reflect tumor subtypes with gene expression and immunostaining profiles sharing similarities to human basal and luminal breast cancers. Within the basal subtype, Met^mt induces tumors with signatures of WNT and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Among human breast cancers, MET is primarily elevated in basal and ERBB2-positive subtypes with poor prognosis, and we show that MET, together with EMT marker, SNAIL, are highly predictive of poor prognosis in lymph node-negative patients. By generating a unique mouse model in which the Met receptor tyrosine kinase is expressed in the mammary epithelium, along with the examination of MET expression in human breast cancer, we have established a specific link between MET and basal breast cancer. This work identifies basal breast cancers and, additionally, poor-outcome breast cancers, as those that may benefit from anti-MET receptor therapies.