Transfer Market (Part 13)

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Everyone's favorite article update has returned!

With the cross country season wrapped up and the holidays fast approaching, now is the time when we begin to see a handful of notable names make moves to different programs around the NCAA.

Let's dive in, shall we?

At the beginning of the month, the University of Virginia announced that D3 superstar Esther Seeland would be joining the program. Based on roster listings, The Stride Report is expecting Seeland to join the Cavaliers starting next fall, presumably as a graduate transfer.

Assuming she runs this winter and this spring for Messiah, Seeland would join the Virginia women with one season of eligibility remaining for both indoor track and outdoor track.

Seeland had a breakout outdoor track season in 2021, throwing down a monster 800 meter time of 2:02 and winning her second D3 national title in the process.

The Messiah star also boasts a personal best of 4:27 for 1500 meters.

The Cavaliers recently brought in middle distance superstar Michaela Meyer from Delaware in the summer of 2020. The UVA coaching staff helped Meyer evolve from an All-American candidate to a national title contender in both the 800 meters and the 1500 meters.

If Seeland's situation is anything like what we've seen out of Meyer, then there's a very real possibility that we see another elite middle distance national title contender donning an orange singlet in the near future.
 

It also helps that Seeland has toed the line for the Olympic Trials, giving her experience that even the best D3 standouts usually don't have.

One of the biggest transfer surprises of the year was seeing Carson Bix opting to move out of the Adams State program and joining the Lee Flames for the upcoming spring semester.

According to TFRRS, Bix has one season of indoor track eligibility remaining and one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining. He no longer has any cross country eligibility.

Bix has proven to be a D2 superstar over the years, boasting times of 3:49 (1500), 4:08 (mile), 8:03 (3k) and 13:46 (5k). However, when including conversions, the four-time All-American has run 4:02 in the mile.

The former Adams State Grizzly is an elite talent, currently sitting at TSR #9 in our men's D2 Top 25 Indoor Track Rankings. Bix is plenty familiar with the best names in the nation has and earned numerous top-level finishes on the national stage.

Bix's unique mix of strength and endurance will make him a factor at the highest levels of D2 once again this year. By teaming up with Lee superstar Christian Noble and middle distance standout Titus Lagat, the Flames boast one of the best middle and long distance running trios in all of D2.

Could we see Lee seriously pursue a DMR later this year? And maybe set a new national record in the process? It's certainly not out of the conversation...

But regardless of whether or not Bix is part of that DMR, the fact that he opted to travel to Tennessee and join Noble says quite a bit about this Lee track and field program. Given his recruiting efforts, Coach Morgan is clearly aiming to establish the Flames as a D2 powerhouse.

The rich just keep getting richer. UNLV middle distance ace Avi'Tal Wilson-Perteete will be finishing her eligibility with the Texas A&M Aggies. According to TFRRS, she has one season of eligibility remaining for both indoor track and outdoor track.

According to a press release from Texas A&M, Wilson-Perteete is expected to join the women in College Station for the upcoming indoor track season. It is still unclear if Wilson-Perteete is transitioning to Texas A&M as a transfer or a graduate transfer.

There are few 800 meter talents in the NCAA who have more raw talent that Wilson-Perteete. With a personal best of 2:01, the soon-to-be Aggie has earned a mark that helps her standout even in one of the most competitive eras ever for the women's 800 meters.

The four-time national qualifier admittedly struggled a bit on the national stage in her first two appearances, but has since rallied in a major way. At the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Wilson-Perteete earned bronze, running 2:02 in the process and putting together one of the best postseason peaks of any woman in the field.

Fast forward to last spring, and Wilson-Perteete once again earned All-American honors, this time shaking off past indoor track woes and finishing 7th place overall.

By joining the Texas A&M women, there is strong potential for Wilson-Perteete to reach an entirely new level of fitness. That's a scary prospect for her future opponents given how fast she has already run.

The Aggies are known for their historical dominance in the 800 meters and have now landed a middle distance veteran who seems to be thriving in the second-half of her career.

On paper, there isn't an athlete-program pairing better than these two.

Another small school standout is on his way to Iowa State.

Iowa Central recently announced that Kelvin Bungei will be joining the Iowa State Cyclones. According to TFRRS, Bungei has numerous seasons of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.

In their press release, Iowa Central states that Bungei "...will be joining the Cyclones at the end of this semester" leading us to believe that the Triton-turned-Cyclone will be joining the men in Ames, Iowa come January.

Bungei was also considering Arkansas and Oklahoma State.

The JUCO standout made some noise on the track during his time at Iowa Central, running times of 4:04 (mile), 8:18 (3k), 14:27 (5k) and 9:09 (3k Steeple). Bungei is also a three-time national champion, winning one NJCCA title on the grass and two on the outdoor oval.

It's hardly a surprise to see Bungei, an accomplished distance talent from a non-D1 program, consider Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Iowa State. Those three programs are extremely active in the transfer portal and have often recruited top talents out of Iowa Central (amongst other programs).

But just how active, you ask?

When looking at Iowa State's current distance roster, you will find that Tanner Anderson, Jason Gomez, Alex Lomong, Wesley Kiptoo, Ryan Ford, Ezekiel Rop, Frank Hayes and Nehemia Too all came from other universities.

With many of Iowa State's best talents nearing the end of their eligibility, bringing in someone like Bungei seems like the right move. The Iowa Central product was able to secure wins in numerous national meets at the JUCO level and showed off versatility that could make him a perfect fit for Iowa State.

 The Cyclones, after all, are one of the few programs in the NCAA that are able to have massive success in everything from the 800 meters up to cross country.

On paper, Bungei will fit right in with the men in Ames, Iowa.

We have mentioned Small before in our women's indoor rankings, but her eventual presence on this Oregon roster is too good to ignore. The 20-year old Australian superstar is expected to join the Ducks this winter, although it is unclear how much eligibility she will have upon her arrival in Eugene, Oregon.

The Aussie ace could become a title contender as soon as this winter if she is at 100%.

With personal bests of 54.97 (400), 2:00.81 (800), 2:38 (1k), 4:07 (1500) and 4:33 (mile), Small could immediately make a massive splash on the collegiate circuit. Her marks put her in elite territory and they could pair well with an Oregon roster that looks primed to be competitive in the DMR this year.

We should, however, note that Small is coming back from an injury that she sustained in March. A L5 stress fracture has kept the Aussie star out of competition, even sidelining her for the Tokyo Olympics.

Small's addition to this Oregon roster is a massive win for coach Helen Lehman-Winters. Admittedly, the women's head distance coach has had limited success (relative to Oregon's historical results) since joining the team back in the summer of 2018.

However, this up-and-coming Aussie ace could dramatically change that. If Small is at full health, then multiple NCAA gold medals seem to be in her future.

The Ole Miss Rebels have announced the additions of Tiarnan Crorken and Shane Bracken to their roster. It is unclear what eligibility that Crorken, who hails from England, will have for the start of his NCAA career. He is expected to join the Rebels this winter.

According to TFRRS, Bracken will have one season of eligibility remaining for outdoor track and at least one season of eligibility remaining for indoor track, although he could have more.

Crorken boasts elite-level personal bests of 1:46 (800), 3:39 (1500) and 3:58 (mile). The 22-year old English superstar will provide the Ole Miss men with yet another All-American caliber talent, leaving the Rebels with one of the deepest contingents middle distance standouts in the entire NCAA.

There is no questioning Crorken's talent, but it's still unclear what his impact can be on the indoor oval. His indoor marks, relative to his outdoor track resume, are somewhat unspectacular.

Even so, Crorken looks like an excellent piece for an Ole Miss program that is preparing for the eventual loss of multiple veteran standouts.

Not to be ignored is Shane Bracken, the 1500 meter ace who has been a staple name in the metric mile during most outdoor track seasons, at least at the D2 level. The Irishman from Saint Leo has made two national meet appearances on the outdoor track, earning All-American honors both times.

Bracken has run 1:50 (800) and 3:41 (1500), but the potential is there for him to run even faster, especially after earning a 16th-place All-American finish at the D2 NCAA XC Championships this past fall.

Much Crorken, there is still some uncertainly as to what Bracken can do on the indoor oval. We rarely saw Bracken compete on the indoor oval given that Saint Leo is a Florida-based university.

That, of course, doesn't mean that Bracken can't be nationally competitive on the indoor track this year. Even so, despite toeing the line for six indoor races, it feels more likely that Bracken will be a bigger contributor on the outdoor track rather than the indoor track.

Eastern Michigan has announced that Faith Rono, a former Middle Tennessee State runner, will be transferring into the program. According to TFRRS, the former Blue Raider has two seasons of cross country eligibility remaining, one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining and potentially three seasons of indoor track remaining.

Rono isn't necessarily a superstar, but she's a very respectable talent who can bring value to the Eastern Michigan Eagles. She boasts respectable marks of 4:24 (1500) and 16:45 (5k), making her someone who can be fairly competitive in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). This past fall, she finished 8th place at Conference USA XC Championships.

With plenty of eligibility remaining, we believe that Rono has tons of potential and that she could be a sneaky-good name in the future.

From Arizona to Texas, middle distance standout Camron Herron has opted to join the Longhorns. According to TFRRS, he's expected to have two seasons of outdoor track eligibility remaining and potentially three seasons of indoor track eligibility remaining.

It is still unclear if Herron will be joining the team this winter or next fall.

Herron, admittedly, is a bit one dimensional when looking at his resume, but between his 800 meter personal best of 1:49 and tons of remaining eligibility, the soon-to-be Longhorn looks like he could be the most underrated transfer of the month.

Herron will join a Texas program that is slowly entering the elite tier when it comes to 800 meter runners. Between Yusuf Bizimana, Crayton Carrozza, Brendan Hebert, Sam Worley and now Herron, the Texas men will have five runners on their roster who have gone under 1:50 for 800 meters.

There is still plenty of room for improvement and better consistency, but Herron has shown flashes of promise during his time at Arizona. Could coach Pete Watson get him to the next level?

One of the more respectable and underrated D2 talents in the NCAA this past fall was Patrick Kiprop, a product of Fresno Pacific. According to TFRRS, the soon-to-be Razorback has three seasons of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition. He will be joining the Arkansas men this winter.

This past fall, Kiprop was one of the better cross country runners in D2. In fact, one could argue that he was amongst the elites. Before the NCAA XC Championships, Kiprop won five-straight cross country races, including the D2 Pre-National Invite, the PacWest XC Championships and the West Regional Championships.

Unfortunately, Kiprop had a tough outing at the NCAA XC Championships and recorded a DNF result.

Even so, it's clear that Kiprop has the potential to be great, not just good. His personal bests of 14:10 (5k) and 9:08 (3k steeplechase) are solid, but they can very clearly be so much better.

On paper, Kiprop is a perfect fit for the Arkansas men. The Razorbacks are plenty familiar with developing transfers, they needed another long-term cross country piece as some of their top names begin to age and they have produced a handful of elite steeplechasers.

It may take some time, but the potential is there for Kiprop to be a special talent at the D1 level.