Transfer Market (Part 19)

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The Stride Report has recently confirmed that Princeton's Kevin Berry will be finishing his eligibility with the Notre Dame men as a graduate transfer starting next year. According to TFRRS, he is expected to have at least one year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition.

Berry is a monumental pickup for the Fighting Irish. The current Princeton runner is undergoing a massive breakout season on the track, posting new personal bests of 7:56 (3k), 13:37 (5k), 28:55 (10k) and 8:58 (3k steeple) between the winter and spring seasons.

Prior to 2022, Berry had never run faster than 8:10 (3k) and 15:08 (5k).

However, Berry's value as a potential scorer began to shine through during the cross country season this past fall. He earned a respectable 41st place finish at the Pre-National meet, earned bronze at the Ivy League XC Championships and placed 11th at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships, eventually qualifying for the NCAA XC Championships with his team.

Few athletes in this "Transfer Market" update offer the value that Berry does. He has suddenly reached a nationally competitive level and is still making steady progress upwards this spring. His sudden rise will be happily welcomed at Notre Dame, a team looking to limit their loss of scoring with the expected departures of Yared Nuguse, Andrew Alexander and Anthony Russo.

Not only that, but pairing Berry with incoming graduate transfer Josh Schumacher (who is having a very promising season in his own right), should give the Irish strong enough depth to support their current stars. In fact, at the rate that Berry is progressing, he could potentially emerge as a legitimate top-five scorer for this team throughout the entirety of next fall.

Notre Dame has a window that they need to capitalize on when it comes to the eligibility of their superstars like Dylan Jacobs and Danny Kilrea. With men like Berry and Schumacher on the way, Coach Sean Carlson seemingly recognizes that.

The Stride Report has confirmed that Pepperdine's Karl Winter will be transitioning to Syracuse next fall as a graduate transfer. He is expected to have at least one season of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition and potentially more in both indoor track and outdoor track.

Winter, however, will likely only use one full year of his remaining eligibility.

Winter has quietly become one of the better milers on the west coast over the last year. The Pepperdine ace first rose to national prominence in the spring of 2021, running a surprisingly great 3:40 personal best for 1500 meters after running an eight-second PR of 3:45 prior to that.

However, the future Syracuse runner has only gotten better since then. He's run 4:02 in the mile (outdoors), has run 13:46 for 5000 meters and recently posted a new PR of 3:39 in the 1500 meters -- all of which came during this current spring track season.

Much like Berry, Winter is still getting better. He has yet to show that he has plateaued or that he has reached his peak. The potential upside that he brings with him to Syracuse is immense.

Admittedly, Winter bucks the trend of Syracuse's long distance identity. While the Orange have often specialized in cross country and in distances longer than the 3k, Winter provides greater event variety amongst their current distance running group.

That said, Syracuse is no stranger to developing sub-four milers. Nathan Henderson ran 3:59 in the mile this past indoor track season and in that same race, teammate Joe Dragon, who was running unattached due to expired eligibility, also ran 3:59.

Even so, Winter's 1500 meter prowess will allow him to potentially score valuable points in a conference (the ACC) that has become one of the deepest in the NCAA for milers.

The Stride Report has confirmed that LSU superstar Katy-Ann McDonald is currently in the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. She has a full year of eligibility remaining and may have an additional indoor track season after redshirting in 2021.

McDonald is currently bordering on the line of being a true NCAA superstar.

Depending on who you ask, she may already be there.

The current LSU veteran has run 2:00.98 (800) and 4:13 (1500) this season, the former being an NCAA co-lead and the latter mark currently putting her at NCAA #6 on the national leaderboard.

Oh, and she ran both of those times at the same meet over the course of the same weekend.

McDonald's elite middle distance prowess will have coaches swarming to recruit her. Not only is she an instant conference-level title contender regardless of where she goes, but she may very well be a national title contender this spring!

However, it's not like McDonald has just been good for this season and this season only. This LSU ace has been a nationally competitive name for years now, recording 2:05 marks as far back as 2019.

And while it is certainly fair to say that she has made major improvements since then, it would be unfair to say that she is new to this tier of elite competition.

However, McDonald's recent 1500 meter prowess does raise some eyebrows. She had never run faster than 4:25 coming into this spring, but has since run 4:17 and now 4:13, the latter mark very much putting her in the All-American conversation should she pursue the event at the national meet.

And here's the biggest catch: McDonald's range extends to not only the 1500 meters, but to cross country as well.

Despite her middle distance reputation, McDonald has also become a wildly valuable scorer in SEC cross country. This past fall, she won the LSU XC Invite, finished runner-up at the Chile Pepper XC Festival, placed 20th at the SEC XC Championships (but has placed as high as 12th before), finished 6th at the South Regional XC Championships and then placed 163rd at the NCAA XC Championships.

What McDonald brings to the table is extremely rare. Trying to find a title contender in the middle distances who can be a legitimate scorer for a top cross country team is value that is nearly nonexistent in today's NCAA landscape.

In terms of potential teams that McDonald could explore, it's hard to pinpoint exactly where would be a good fit for her given how unique her resume is.

However, a team like Florida would be almost too perfect of a fit for McDonald. The Gators have a young and promising long distance squad that may be a piece or two away from contending for a national qualifying spot in cross country.

McDonald may not be a home run hitting low-stick, but she'll add valuable consistency and veteran steadiness that Florida won't really have a chance to find.

Not only that, but the Gators are often considered to be one of the better middle distance programs throughout the NCAA. The 800 meters is one of their marquee events and they have plenty of experience developing standout All-American stars in the event.

Plus, they already have a middle distance veteran in Imogen Barrett whose skillset is almost identical to that of McDonald.

On paper, it's a perfect match.

Adams State has announced that standout Nebraska miler Dais Malebana will be joining the program next year as a graduate transfer. Malebana is expected to have a full year of eligibility remaining, but that is not confirmed.

This is a monumental shake up in the Division Two ranks. Adams State just secured someone who could realistically contend for a national title in the mile, the 1500 meters and (as an anchor leg) the DMR.

Malebana has rapidly risen up the NCAA ranks since coming out of the JUCO realm. Malebana has run 3:59 in the mile and 3:39 for 1500 meters, validating himself as an upper-tier threat at the Division One level. He has also run 8:00 (3k) and 14:04 (5k), two nationally competitive times at the Division Two level.

The soon-to-be Adams State star isn't perfect tactically, but his raw fitness and proven ability to run fast on more than one occasion makes him a potentially scary name to battle within the RMAC and throughout Division Two.

Remember, this is someone who made it out of the regional rounds last spring and who qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships (where he recorded a DNF).

Malebana is still working to prove himself in cross country, but the potential is absolutely there. Despite a few DNF results and a few iffy performances, this is still someone who has placed 19th at the BIG 10 XC Championships before.

At the Division Two level, a performance like that would put him near the top of the loaded Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

So far this spring, only two men have run under 3:40 this year. They are Christian Noble and Aaron Ahl. With Noble expected to depart the NCAA after this season, the national title in this event, while certainly top-heavy and historically challenging, could be open for Malebana to win this time next year.

As for cross country, this move might have just won the Grizzlies a national title. Adams State did lose Carson Bix to a transfer move this past winter, but other than him, the D2 powerhouse is expected to return everyone from this past fall (based strictly on TFRRS eligibility).

If each of those men do return and Malebana plugs himself into the Bix-shaped hole in this lineup, then the Adams State men will have a collection of firepower, depth and experience that teams like Colorado Mines and Grand Valley State may struggle to match.

The Stride Report has confirmed that Manhattan's Marc Carrera will be venturing to Akron starting next fall as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, he has one year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons.

Carrera is a respectable middle distance talent who could thrive at Akron. The current Manhattan Jasper has run 1:52 for 800 meters, making him an interesting prospect who could be a key scorer in the MAC once he develops with the Zips.

Akron has a strong history of developing strong 800 meter runners. They are, after all, responsible for developing Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy.

However, over the last decade, other names like Blake Lucius (1:48), Jacob Ondash (1:50), Sean Poholski (1:50), Jake Hiltner (1:48), Gabriel Genovesi (1:48) and Willie Brown (1:50) have emerged as nationally competitive talents and/or top names at the conference level.

It will admittedly take a good bit of development for Carrera to reach the same point as those names, but with a 1:52 personal best, this soon-to-be Zip isn't far off from being one of the better Akron middle distance runners of this era.

Kennesaw State has announced that rising Ivy League talent Caroline Timm will be joining the program next year as a graduate transfer. Timm is expected to have a full year of eligibility remaining according to TFFRS.

While the Notre Dame men earned an underrated signing from Princeton's Kevin Berry, the Kennesaw State women did the same with Caroline Timm, another Princeton runner.

Timm, much like Berry, is having massive success this year, seeing significant jumps in her overall personal bests. However, part of that can be explained by her very minimal number of races leading up to 2022.

But once Timm began to consistently toe the line, she emerged as one of the better middle distance talents in the northeast region. The Tiger ace has run 2:05 (800), 2:47 (1k), 4:17 (1500) and 4:39 (mile) this year.

And the best part?

Her 800 meter and 1500 meter personal bests both came at the Virginia Challenge just a few weeks ago.

Timm is also a promising cross country runner, finishing 17th at the Ivy League XC Championships and 33rd at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships this past fall.

This soon-to-be Kennesaw State Owl is reaching a very competitive tier and she is still making significant progress. On paper, Timm has yet to reach her ceiling and could see her personal bests drop even further over the next year.

With middle distance superstar Sarah Hendrick expected to return to Kennesaw State next year (based strictly on TFRRS eligibility), Timm and Hendrick could team up to form a lethal 1-2 punch in the 800 meter and 1500 meter distances.

On paper, they are more than capable of sweeping the top-two ASUN Championship spots in those events while also adding tremendous value in relays.

And maybe it's possible that Hendrick, assuming she returns, brings out the full potential in Timm who is only now beginning to realize what she's capable of.

As for cross country, the Liberty women have proven to be formidable opponents, but it's not unrealistic to think that Timm could contend for an ASUN cross country title and place highly in a South region that is arguably the same level of competitiveness as the Mid-Atlantic region.

Tulane has announced that McNeese State runner Aaron Gilliam will be joining the program next year as a graduate transfer. Gilliam is expected to have a full year of eligibility remaining according to TFFRS.

Tulane continues to reshape their identity under Coach Adrian Myers who recently joined the Green Wave after helping the Northern Illinois women win their first-ever MAC cross country team title in the fall of 2020.

By our count, this is the eighth name between the men and women who has transferred into Tulane, including international additions.

As Tulane works to get an instant jumpstart on their long distance rebuild via the portal, they have ultimately landed a handful of respectable names, including Gilliam.

The current McNeese State runner is an all-around solid talent on the track, running times of 1:53 (800), 3:48 (1500) and 14:30 (5k). Each of those personal bests have come in his last three races, meaning that Gilliam is on a promising hot streak this spring.

Gilliam brings tons of upside and a lot of exciting potential to a Tulane lineup that, with enough reworking, could turn out to be a fairly cohesive group by next fall. In fact, the grass is where Gilliam thrives, finishing 25th place at the Arturo Barrios Invitational and then 6th place at the Southland Conference this past fall.

On paper, Gilliam isn't a home run hitter who is going to win conference titles -- at least not immediately. However, he is an outstanding piece for a team like Tulane to build around.

Butler has announced that middle distance specialist Will Cuthbertson will be joining the program next year as a graduate transfer. Cuthbertson is expected to have a full year of eligibility remaining according to TFFRS.

This is an outstanding addition for the Butler men. The Bulldogs have evolved into a long distance powerhouse and have developed a handful of endurance-centric NCAA stars, specifically in the 3k, 5k and the 10k.

And while their middle distance corps have been far from bad, the 800 meter performances from this group have largely been overlooked (and maybe unfairly).

But with Cuthbertson set to join the Butler men next year, the Bulldogs's middle distance group may deserve more attention than we have given them. So far this spring, Matthew Wigelsworth has run 1:48 and Chandler McGaha has run 1:49.

According to TFRRS, Wigelsworth is expected to be out of eligibility by this time next year, but that's what makes Cuthbertson such a timely addition. With a 1:48 personal best, he can be an instant impact replacement and a top contender in the BIG East.

Not only that, but Cuthbertson also has sneaky-good mile strength, boasting a 4:03 mile PR to pair with his speedy 800 meter marks.

Everything works out perfectly for Butler in this scenario. They are now set to have a highly experienced half-mile specialist who can instantly replace their departing 1:48 man while also building on his current fitness. And if that wasn't enough, he can effectively move up to the mile distance, playing a key role there as well.

In a BIG East Conference where the middle distances are dominated by Villanova and Georgetown, having some like Cuthbertson could prove to be wildly valuable at the conference level.