Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Dec 4, 20232 min
The Stride Report has confirmed that South Carolina mile standout, Silan Ayyildiz, has entered the transfer portal as an underclassman transfer. According strictly to TFRRS, the soon-to-be-former Gamecock holds three seasons of cross country eligibility, as well as two seasons of indoor track and outdoor track eligibility, each.
Her move is expected to happen prior to the start of the next semester.
Ayyildiz, a Turkish distance runner, has been excellent on the track, specifically over the mile and 1500 meters. Last winter, the SEC talent ran an outstanding time of 4:32 in the mile, finishing a narrow-up to Lauren Gregory at the SEC Indoor Championships. She would later place 14th overall at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
On the outdoor oval, Ayyildiz produced another strong mark of 4:12 for 1500 meters, a time that put her into the NCAA Outdoor Championships where she admittedly struggled. She was, however, last year's SEC champion in the metric mile.
Despite being a middle distance-centric runner, Ayyildiz also showcased tremendous scoring potential and value on the grass this past fall.
At the SEC XC Championships, the Gamecock ace finished 7th overall, losing to five All-Americans, each of whom finished in the top-11 at the NCAA XC Championships. Ayyildiz would later venture to the Southeast Regional XC Championships where she placed a highly respectable 11th place overall. However, she was unable to advance to the cross country national meet as an individual.
One source informed The Stride Report that "two major powers" are in play to ultimately sign the current South Carolina runner, although that isn't necessarily to say that other schools aren't also in consideration.
Whichever team does land Ayyildiz will be gaining tremendous three-season value. The soon-to-be transfer can (eventually) provide national-caliber scoring on the track while also acting as a key piece towards a DMR.
And on the grass, Ayyildiz's value could be just as impactful (relatively speaking) depending on the program in question. If this dynamic Turkish distance runner can continue to emerge as a fringe low-stick like she was this past fall, then she could play a major role in boosting (or sustaining) a team's scoring potency in the fall of 2024.
But maybe the most important aspect in all of this is that Silan Ayyildiz still has plenty of eligibility, meaning that the school who signs her will presumably be able to lean on this still-rising distance talent over the next few years.