2022 D1 Outdoor Top 25 Rankings (Men): Update #5 (FINAL)

Click here to see our Just Missed names, Honorable Mention names and Notes.

Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.

TFRRS is used as a general guide when determining eligibility.

Was not ranked in our last update.

First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings.

The second number indicates where they were ranked in our last update.

There were a lot of names who could have landed at this last spot.

Widlschutt's 27:38 mark in the 10k this season was wildly impressive. Reed Brown ran 3:36 to take down Noble and Spencer earlier this season in the 1500 meters. Jonathan Davis ran 3:36 in the metric mile and was an All-American.

However, Gilman was great for *most* of this spring season. He won his first race of the spring season over Adam Spencer in the 1500 meters. Then, he went to the Mt. SAC Relays where he ran 13:33 to beat a very strong field which featured Wesley Kiptoo.

Gilman earned two runner-up finishes at the Mountain West Championships which was, admittedly, not ideal, but he then rallied in the postseason. However, he then ran a PR of 13:30 on the national stage, eventually earning 5th place All-American honors.

Gilman got better as the season went on, took down a handful of recent NCAA stars in their marquee events and earned All-American honors in a VERY deep 5k field. Gilman was probably the most underappreciated runner in the NCAA, but we have to reward him in these rankings.

I mean, how do you rank a guy who only ran the 800 meters once this season and nothing longer? Jones focused on the 400 meters for most of the season and eventually finished 4th place at the outdoor national meet in that event.

But remember, this is the same guy who ran 1:45 at the beginning of the season and beat Moad Zahafi. That result is monumental and it has to carry some weight when looking at Jones' spot in these rankings.

There's not one obvious answer when it comes to ranking Jones, so keeping him in the rankings and setting him back at TSR #24 seems appropriate.

This is easily one of the more challenging names to rank. Some athletes and coaches will see this ranking and think, "He didn't even make it out of the 1500 meter finals!" while others will say, "This guy ran 3:33! He ran a collegiate record!"

And both sides would have good points.

Kipsang was great at the start of the year, but simply faltered towards the tail-end with a brief illness potentially playing a role after the regional meet. Even so, his tactics will need to improve if he's going to be a factor in many of these mile/1500 finals.

Despite a few racing woes, Kipsang remains in our rankings. There's just no ignoring how much raw talent he has.

We said from the very beginning that Vanoppen thrives in tactical situations and sure enough, he did just that. The Wake Forest star matched his PR in the prelims with a 3:37 mark, then waited patiently to make his move in the finals.

He ultimately placed 4th, earning All-American honors.

Vanoppen is wildly consistent and can thrive in most race settings. His ability to still run an incredibly fast time and then come back two days later and thrive in a tactical scenario is impressive.

This Wake Forest ace is probably one of the most challenging names to race against and when you look at his season as a whole, it's hard to argue otherwise.

The Olympian came into this season with a huge 8:19 personal best, meaning that Trippas was put into the title contender category before he even ran the race this season.

An 8:30 mark at the Penn Relays caught our attention, as did numerous wins throughout the spring months. An 8:29 mark in the steeplechase prelims followed by an 8:20 mark in a historically fast finals race validated everything about Trippas.

The Princeton star proved to be wildly consistent, super fast and capable of earning multiple wins. If the finals at the outdoor national meet played out a little differently, he might be the NCAA champion in this event. Instead, he placed 5th.

And while 5th place may not have been his ideal finish, that was probably one of the most impressive 5th place finishes in NCAA Outdoor Championship history.

Smeeton was steady and consistent all season long. He did what he had to during the regular season, running 8:34, to advance to the regional rounds. Then, he ran 8:32, 8:26 and 8:20 at the West Regional Championships, national meet prelims and national meet finals.

Smeeton's extensive experience and master class tactics absolutely made him a title contender this year. And although he only finished 4th, he can at least go home as one of the fastest collegiate steeplechasers ever.

Overall, Smeeton felt like one of the most reliable names in this steeple final and for that reason, he jumps into our top-20.

Ellis was outstanding at the NCAA Championships, thriving in his prelim to run 3:37 and then beautifully navigating a chaotic final 200 meters to earn bronze in the 1500 meters.

When it came to the actual race and his execution, Ellis was probably one of the most impressive distance runners of the weekend. And while he certainly had plenty of momentum going into Eugene, Oregon, imagining him as a top-three finisher seemed like a lot.

Ellis has been good -- very good -- for a heavy portion of his career, but he has never peaked as perfectly as he just did and he has never been in a level where I thought he would compete for bronze.

Kudos to Ellis for peaking at the right time.

One 10k race and a bloody nose later, and Charles Hicks is a 6th place All-American. For the most part, I don't have much to say here. Hicks did what he had to do and responded to the main moves that were made. He didn't have the pop to really hang with the main contenders in the final lap, but hanging on for a 6th place finish is still solid.

Hicks is the second-lowest finishing distance runner (from the national meet) in these rankings. However, we can't forget that this is someone who ran 27:40 earlier this season.

Hicks has been great all year long and for the most part, his value and reliability keeps him fairly high up in our top-25.

Brian Fay is probably the most versatile distance runner in the NCAA. If he's not, then he's at least top-three. One would think that Fay's versatility would have played a bigger role in his 5k race at the NCAA Championships, but alas, it did not.

Fay finished 7th at the national meet in the 5k and was never able to advance to the main group. Maybe he waited too long. Maybe he just didn't have his best race. But whatever the reason may be, it shouldn't overshadow his overall talent.

Fay ran 1:50 (800), 3:40 (1500), 13:16 (5k), 28:22 (10k) and 8:33 (steeplechase) this season. He also showed off one of the craziest, most lethal kicks I have ever seen to be defeat Morgan Beadlescomb in the Bryan Clay 5k.

That versatility and raw talent should allow Fay to keep a semi-high ranking.

Robinson ran a smart race in the 5k and positioned himself fairly well in the final moments. However, by the time the pack began to string out in the final lap, guys like Young, Hacker and Beadlescomb just had a bigger jump on him.

In the end, Robinson finished 4th. That was a solid finish and an encouraging result, but I'm sure that one of the most dynamic distance talents in the NCAA wanted a bit more.

But more importantly, we have to remember what he did this season. He ran 27:47 (10k), 13:20 (5k) and 8:33 (steeplechase). The pure value that Robinson's resume holds should not be ignored and for that reason, he is ranked at TSR #16.

A 9th place finish in the 5k wasn't ideal, but it was far from bad. Luckily, Sprout continues to thrive in the longer distances, finishing 4th in the 10k to earn All-American honors.

Sprout, despite his relative youth, has quickly become one of the more reliable distance runners in the country. You can usually rely on him on the national stage and he has adapted to the longer racing distances better than most underclassmen.

In an era where the distance events have become wildly deep, having someone as consistent and as reliable as Sprout goes a long way.

Miller just didn't look like himself all season long, faltering at the Tom Jones Memorial meet and later fading at the SEC Championships with an illness.

Miller did rebound at the regional and national meets, but it was still clear that he was missing that little extra edge and control over his fitness that we saw during the winter months.

Now, in fairness to Miller, Zahafi was just at another level this year and Anderson was a monster on every final straightaway that he ran. For Miller to emerge with a bronze medal and a 1:45 seasonal best is pretty darn good, all things considered.

Maier ran 28:18 (10k) and 13:26 (5k) at the start of the season, flexing incredible raw firepower to complement his incredible personal bests from the indoor season.

But after being a little quiet in the latter-half of the season, Maier fell off our radar. It also didn't help that Maier finished dead last in the 5000 meters at the indoor national meet, further disincentivizing us to consider him as a serious contender in this national 10k field.

That, of course, was a mistake.

Maier broke away from the main pack in the final moments of the 10k and made a hard charge to catch Jacobs on the final straightaway, ultimately settling for 2nd place.

We had no reason to doubt or ignore Maier the way that we did. His raw fitness has proven to be elite and his finishing kick, which likely stems from his 3:56 mile PR, looked absolutely lethal.

Stokes has been awesome all year long, earning marquee wins and running fast times. He was clearly building on the fitness that he had from last year and he even flexed some versatility in the middle distances during the winter months.

Stokes then peaked at the national meet, running 8:18 to finish a VERY narrow 3rd place. And while that may not have been an ideal finish for this Hoya star, the fact that this guy only has sophomore eligibility is incredible.

Stokes looked like he was going to win this race at a certain point and he almost perfectly timed his finishing kick on the final straightaway.

There is so much to like about Stokes, but we couldn't possibly list it all. What we do know is that Georgetown now has the best steeplechaser ever in their storied program. In fact, they now have one of the better steeplechasers in NCAA history.

A 3rd place finish in the men's 5k isn't a total shock for Young who realistically could have placed anywhere from 1st to 5th in this race. However, we did note that a faster, aerobic-based race likely benefitted Young unlike a tactical race.

And unfortunately for Young, this 5k was more tactical than it was aerobic.

Young can absolutely win a national title one day, but he either has to hope that certain national meets play into his favor (which is never a given) or better develop his tactics.

The Jamaican superstar was incredible at the SEC Championships when he ran 1:45 and that strength was clearly not a fluke. The Mississippi State star established himself as one of the three best half-milers in the country this past weekend, running 1:45 in both the prelims and finals to place 2nd overall.

Anderson was awesome this year. He may not have the same front-running strength that Zahafi did, but he does have some of the best finishing strength that I have ever seen from an 800 meter runner.

In a year where we expected Miller and Zahafi to dominate the 800 meter headlines, Anderson was still able to break into that tier. And for that reason, he cracks out top-10.

Now, I know what you're thinking.

"TSR #9? C'mon Garrett, this guy won a conference and a national title this year! What more does he have to do?"

Waskom was wildly impressive in the postseason. I don't think I can remember seeing anyone consistently kick from as far out as he does in the 1500 meters and have as much success as he does. Seeing him win the national title in the exact same way as his PAC-12 title was uncanny.

But Waskom is someone who had not broken 3:40 until the national meet. And when he did arrive at the national meet, his fastest time improved to 3:39.45 in the prelims which isn't even one of the fastest 30 times in the country this spring.

He also had a handful of steeple results that weren't amazing, although that is likely what prompted his switch to the 1500 meters.

I say all of this not to be critical of Waskom, but rather to explain why non-title winners are ranked ahead of him.

At the end of the day, Waskom was incredible in the moments that mattered the most. You can't get more clutch than him. And unless someone can prove to me otherwise, this Washington runner was probably (?) the best tactical runner in the NCAA this spring

Beadlescomb did everything right in the 5000 meters at the national meet. He put himself in an ideal position for most of the race, he didn't exert excess energy, he following the pack when he needed to, and he made a kick when he thought was necessary.

Beadlescomb was ultimately out-kicked by Hacker, but it's hard to say that this Michigan State veteran did anything wrong with his game plan. Could he have waited a bit longer to make his final move? Sure, but that's easier to say in retrospect.

At the end of the day, Beadlescomb will go down as one of the best BIG 10 distance runners of this new century, even if he doesn't have a national title.

Coming into the men's 10k, it was obvious that the national title favorite would be Abdi Nur. And sure enough, it was Nur who first broke away late in this race to try and drop the pack.

And for the most part, he did...except for Dylan Jacobs and Alex Maier.

Jacobs hung strong, even when Nur tried to foil his kick on the back straightaway. But as the final curve approached, Jacobs just had more strength and turnover left, ultimately giving him the win.

Jacobs is someone who doesn't necessarily have the best endurance or aerobic strength out of everyone in that 10k field. He also isn't someone who you would consider to have the best kick in that 10k field.

But Jacobs is an exceptional racer. His tactics are solid and he's great at positioning. He knows when to make his moves and generally speaking, he has high racing IQ.

And sure enough, that was reflected both in the results and how he spoke about his win in a post-race interview.

Major kudos to Duncan Hamilton. The Montana State star was the reason why a handful of men earned world standards in the steeplechase and why a handful of men now rank amongst the best all-time in the event, collegiately.

Hamilton pushed the pace from the very beginning and while it didn't produce gold for him, it did give him a (very narrow) silver medal and a monster time of 8:18.

The raw firepower that Hamilton has exhibited is jaw-dropping. However, more importantly, he also flexed some of the best range of anyone in the country. He ran 3:39 for 1500 meters and 13:30 for 5000 meters to pair with his steeple accolades.

Very few men in the NCAA have the capability to flex that level of speed, strength and athleticism...except for Hamilton.

Sure, he didn't win the national title, but it was clear that Garcia Romo was the overwhelmingly favorite going into the finals. He had run 1:46 for 800 meters this spring and had also run 3:36 at the SEC Championships.

When watching that men's 1500 meter final, it was clear that everyone was concerned about the Ole Miss superstar. And truthfully, if Garcia Romo didn't get boxed in on the curve, then he may be the national title winner and not Waskom.

A monster kick from Hacker coming off of the final curve eventually slingshotted himself past Beadlescomb to secure the win. And honestly, who can be surprised?

Sure, Hacker maybe wasn't our first choice to win the national title, but we've been high on the Wisconsin star since the indoor track season. He delivered a 4th place finish in a tactical 3k race back in March and then validated his fitness with a 13:19 (5k) mark earlier this spring.

We even said that Hacker would be able to thrive in almost any race scenario, so much so that he could win gold regardless of how the 5k was run. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened, looking like the sharpest and most refined distance runner in the field.

Fading to 3rd place in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Championships isn't necessarily ideal for someone who is ranked at TSR #1 prior to the national meet. But even then, it's hard to say that Nur wasn't one of the three best distance runners in the country this spring.

He ran 3:36 for 1500 meters and then ran an NCAA record of 13:06 in the 5k!

I have no idea why he chose the 10k over the 5k, especially since he didn't necessarily have a great 10k race earlier in the season, but I digress. Nur is still one of the best to ever do it and his ranking shouldn't slide too much after all he did this spring.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I have been saying since last year that Jaziri was a true superstar and that he had tons of national-caliber firepower. Well, sure enough, he delivered in the steeplechase this past weekend.

Jaziri hung on to a super fast pace by Hamilton and rode that pace all the way to the final stretch where he willed his way across the line and to the title. The Eastern Kentucky star now ranks at NCAA #2 all-time in the steeplechase with a mark of 8:18 and just took down the fastest and deepest steeplechase field in NCAA history.

That should be enough of a reason for him to earn the NCAA #2 spot.

Moad Zahafi is the fastest 800 meter runner in the world so far this season. That alone should give us enough of a reason to rank him at TSR #1. With a 1:43.69 mark, Zahafi is one of four collegiate men who have broken 1:44 (ever). Zahafi has also taken down Miller numerous this times and has pulled away from Anderson like it was nothing.

And now, with a national title on his resume, it's hard to argue against a guy who also happened to run 3:39 in the 1500 meters this spring....in his first 1500 meter race ever.

Dylan Jacobs (Notre Dame)

Parker Stokes (Georgetown)

Sam Ellis (Princeton)

Alex Maier (Oklahoma State)

Ryan Smeeton (Oklahoma State)

Sam Gilman (Air Force)

Matthew Pereira (Harvard)

Amon Kemboi (Arkansas)

Reed Brown (Oregon)

Eduardo Herrera (Colorado)

Jonathan Davis (Illinois)

Adriaan Wildschutt (Florida State)

Jason Gomez (Iowa State)

Sean Dolan (Villanova)

Anass Essayi (South Carolina)

Adam Spencer (Wisconsin)

Athanas Kioko (Campbell)

Barry Keane (Butler)

Kenneth Rooks (BYU)

Alec Basten (Minnesota)

Matthew Wilkinson (Minnesota)

Michael Power (Tulsa)

Luke Houser (Washington)

Athanas Kioko (Campbell)

Isaac Basten (Drake)

Luke Houser (Washington)

Ryan Schoppe (Oklahoma State)

Kieran Lumb (Washington)

Matthew Pereira (Harvard)

Amon Kemboi (Arkansas)

Reed Brown (Oregon)

Eduardo Herrera (Colorado)

Jonathan Davis (Illinois)

Adriaan Wildschutt (Florida State)

Dayton Carlson (Arizona State)

Samuel Rodman (Princeton)

Nathan Green (Washington)

John Petruno (Michigan State)

Alex Ostberg (North Carolina)

Lorenz Herrmann (Idaho)

Sebastian Fernandez (BYU)

Colin Ebling (Duquesne)

Clayborn Pender (Georgia)

Jonathan Schwind (Lipscomb)

Patrick Kiprop (Arkansas)

James Mwaura (Gonzaga)

Yusuf Bizimana (Texas)

Sam Whitmarsh (Texas A&M)

John Rivera (Ole Miss)

Ayman Zahafi (Miami (FL))

Matthew Payamps (Georgetown)

Jack Salisbury (Georgetown)

Drew Bosley (Northern Arizona)

Victor Kiprop (Alabama)

Yasin Sado (Virginia)

Ben Fleming (Virginia Tech)

Levi Taylor (Montana State)

Aaron Las Heras (Wake Forest)

Casey Clinger (BYU)

Acer Iverson (Harvard)

Aaron Bienenfeld (Oregon)

Elliot Cook (Oregon)

George Kusche (Northern Arizona)

Tim Zepf (Notre Dame)

Clayborn Pender (Georgia)

Baylor Franklin (Ole Miss)

Sebastian Fernandez (BYU)

Jacob Lamb (Alabama)

Wes Porter (Virginia)