GRAD TRANSFER: Brody Smith to Finish Eligibility at Syracuse Next Fall

The Stride Report has confirmed that Purdue's Brody Smith will be finishing his eligibility with the Syracuse men as a graduate transfer starting next fall. He will be joining the Orange in an effort to pursue his desired masters degree which Purdue does not offer.

Smith currently has one season of cross country eligibility and one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining, although he is expected to use that final outdoor track season later this spring.

The current Purdue veteran has risen to the top of the NCAA ranks over the past few years. Smith currently sits at TSR #35 in our men's preseason winter cross country individual rankings and was ranked as high as TSR #29 this past summer.

Smith, who previously spent a few years at Utah State before transferring to Purdue, has been to three NCAA XC Championships throughout his collegiate career. Last fall was arguably the best season of his career as he finished 9th at the John McNichols Invitational, 16th at the Joe Piane Invitational, 26th at the Nuttycombe Invitational and 11th at the BIG 10 Championships.

On the track, Smith owns respectable personal bests, including times of 4:01 (mile), 8:02 (3k), 14:16 (5k) and 8:47 (steeplechase). He will be joining a Syracuse team that brought in graduate transfer JP Trojan from William & Mary last summer.

The Orange struggled a bit at the ACC Championships this past fall, finishing 6th overall as a team. However, with Smith now on their roster, the men from upstate New York are expected to be one of the more competitive cross country programs in the conference moving forward (depending on who returns to use their additional eligibility).