Transfer Market (Part 24)

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The Stride Report has confirmed that Tennessee's Katie Thronson is currently on the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. She is expected to have one full year of cross country, indoor track and outdoor track eligibility remaining.

Thronson was an underappreciated distance talent for the Volunteers over the last few seasons. The SEC ace made noticeable improvements starting in the fall of 2020 during the middle of the pandemic.

That fall, Thronson posted quietly great results such as a 4th place finish at the Louisville Classic and a victory at the Blazer Classic. Fast forward to the winter of 2021, and Thronson earned a promising 25th place finish at the loaded FSU Winter XC Classic. Her season on the grass ended there.

However, on the indoor and outdoors ovals, Thronson began to post promising times, running an exceptional 15:54 mark for 5000 meters and 4:24 mark for the 1500 meters.
 

From that point, the Tennessee ace gained significant momentum.

She placed 19th at the 2021 SEC XC Championships and 13th at the 2021 South Regional XC Championships before going to the indoor track and running personal bests of 4:39 (mile) and 9:09 (3k). She later improved her steeplechase PR to 10:04 at the SEC Outdoor Championships this past spring.

With the attention surrounding Tennessee's recent coaching change and the move of Sydney Seymour to NC State, Thronson has been overlooked for what she can bring to the table. She is making consistent improvements in a variety of events, has sneaky-good mile speed to complement her aerobic prowess and can fit into almost any lineup.

To think that she could be a true low-stick for the right team next year isn't out of the question.

On paper, a team like Florida would be a great fit for this soon-to-be former Lady Vol. The Gators have a very young team, but they have exciting firepower in Parker Valby and tons of high-upside youngsters who are due for breakout seasons.

Having an established veteran enter that program would be huge, and it wouldn't hurt that Thronson already has experience racing within the SEC and the South region during the fall.

NC State, on paper, would also be a great option, especially with Tennessee teammate Sydney Seymour finishing her eligibility with the Wolfpack as a graduate transfer. And while it's clear that Coach Henes' group is likely favored to win the national team title (again) in the fall, having one last piece like Thronson would solidify themselves in that top spot.

The Stride Report has confirmed that Texas middle distance runner Brendan Hebert is currently in the transfer portal as a regular transfer. He has one full year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons.

Hebert is easily one of the most underrated and overlooked middle distance standouts in the NCAA right now. On a Texas team that has become an 800 meter and mile-centric juggernaut, Hebert has still delivered strong marks and respectable consistency.

The Longhorn ace was a solid middle distance runner in the early days of his career, running 4:03 in the mile prior to 2021. However, following the pandemic, Hebert broke out in a major way. He went from 4:03 to 4:01 to (eventually) 3:59 this past winter.

Hebert also saw his 800 meter PR improve from 1:54 to 1:49 (multiple times). Hebert's Instagram profile also suggests that he ran 1:47, although TSR was unable to confirm that result.

Nonetheless, Hebert is a fascinating name who has been slowly and steadily progressing upwards. His consistency is promising leaving us reason to believe that there may be additional potential within this soon-to-be former Texas runner.

On paper, Hebert's skillset would best suit a team like Virginia Tech. The Hokies are a historic 800 meter and mile powerhouse, and that history has extended past the departure of now-Oregon coach Ben Thomas.

And with two other standout names now departing from Blacksburg (see below), adding a name like Hebert would fit perfectly into the what the Hokies (and likely Hebert) are trying to accomplish in the ACC.

 Iowa State, while arguably more middle distance oriented, has been unafraid to bring in middle distance talents are in the exact same tier as Hebert. And on paper, the reputation of Coach Sudbury is hard to ignore, especially for someone like Hebert.

But Iowa State needs cross country and long distance help right now. Not necessarily middle distance prowess.

Of course, venturing within the BIG 12 may be off the table given his career-long affiliation with Texas...right?

One other option would be Ole Miss, a dynamic middle distance powerhouse with many of the same high-octane qualities that have also made Texas so great. On paper, that would be the best fit for Hebert.

Of course, as we all know, the recent departure of distance coach Ryan Vanhoy, the mastermind behind the Rebels' success, makes the future of that program unclear, at least in terms of how viable of an option they would be for Hebert.

A standout Virginia Tech star is on the move. Ben Fleming will be going to North Carolina this fall to finish his eligibility as a graduate transfer. He is expected to have one season of cross country eligibility remaining and one season of indoor track eligibility remaining. He is not expected to have any outdoor track eligibility remaining.

Fleming is a unique name as his range and versatility made it difficult to lock-down what kind of program he would best fit-in with, skill-wise. Even so, that dynamic talent is what makes him such a valuable pick-up for the Tar Heels.

The recent Virginia Tech graduate had a breakout year in 2022, running highly impressive personal bests across the board. Fleming posted marks of 2:22 (1k), 3:59 (mile), 7:49 (3k flat-track converted), 13:57 (5k) and, most importantly, 8:31 (steeplechase).

That latter mark came at the ACC Outdoor Championships earlier this spring when Fleming took down Virginia star Yasin Sado and secured the ACC steeple title. Fleming would go on to qualify for the outdoor national meet where, unfortunately for him, he was the first man out of the finals.

On the grass, Fleming is a respectable name, placing 25th overall at the ACC XC Championships this past fall. On paper, he would have been the Tar Heels' third scorer at that meet.

It's hard to dislike anything about this addition if you're the Tar Heels. Coach Miltenberg has a history of bringing in a respectable graduate transfers to his program over the last few years to offer scoring support and experience to a team that is still fairly young.

Fleming may not be a low-stick superstar on the grass who dramatically changes how we view UNC, but he does bring experience and stability to the middle (or backend) of their varsity lineup.

For a high-ceiling team, that's a major plus.

However, the track is where Fleming's value will best shine. His middle distance speed will be extremely valuable on a DMR (which Miltenberg hasn't necessarily shied away from). He'll also be able to counteract the distance points from ACC teams such as Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Duke and a couple of others.

Although, admittedly, not having any outdoor eligibility to utilize his steeplechase talent is a bit of a bummer for a Chapel Hill-based team that could have had a wicked 1-2 steeple punch between Fleming and Marshall Williamson next spring.

The other Ben of Virginia Tech's steeplechase duo, Ben Nibbelink will be going to Wisconsin next year as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, he has at least two seasons of outdoor track eligibility, indoor track eligibility and cross country eligibility remaining, although his official eligibility status in those seasons is not yet clear.

On paper, Nibbelink is almost identical to Fleming in terms of what his resume brings to the table. The soon-to-be Badger had a huge breakout indoor track season in 2021 and then thrived in the steeplechase this past spring.

Nibbelink ran eyebrow-raising personal bests of 2:24 (1k), 3:58 (mile) and 7:56 (3k) during the winter of 2021. He also qualified for the indoor national meet that year in both the mile and the 3k.

Fast forward to this spring, and Nibbelink ran 8:49 in the steeplechase, then 8:41, then 8:40. The latter mark came at the East Regional Championships which ultimately pushed Nibbelink into the national meet where he ran 8:46 in the prelims.

Admittedly, Wisconsin isn't the first team that I would have picked for a mile/steeple specialist like Nibbelink. It's true, coach Mick Byrne has an underrated track record of producing promising mile/1500 meter talents. However, the steeplechase has not been one of Wisconsin's strong suits.

The Badgers haven't produced a steeplechaser who has run faster than 9:04 since 2014 when Adam Brill ran 8:44. That, however, is far and away the best steeple performance that Wisconsin has had since that time.

But that's why Nibbelink has to be considered a major win. The Wisconsin men are certainly going to be happy with the idea that they now have a steeplechaser who can contend with a top-heavy BIG 10 conference in that event, especially with a handful of steeple veterans finishing their eligibility.

As for cross country, it's hard to now what Nibbelink can truly do in that area. The recent Virginia Tech graduate hasn't raced on the grass since the fall of 2020 before he eventually broke out on the oval.

Even so, a massive rise in the steeplechase does suggest that Nibbelink has some real and applicable value on the grass. If so, then Wisconsin may be a really scary team this fall.

Was this the biggest move of the midwest so far this year? It depends on what your criteria is, but that may be the case. That's because Titus Winders has announced that he will be transferring to Iowa State next fall.

According to TFRRS, he is expected to have one season of cross country eligibility remaining, at least one season of indoor track eligibility remaining and at least two seasons of outdoor track eligibility remaining.

At first, Winders' move may comes as a surprise until you realize that Southern Indiana will be moving from the Division Two ranks to the Division One ranks later this year. As a result, Southern Indiana (and Winders) would be put on a four-year transitionary period where they would be ineligible for NCAA-sanctioned regional and national meets.

Winders has been an excellent distant talent for the Screaming Eagles over the last few years, although 2022 has been far better to him than past years.

Coming into 2022, Winders had been a nationally competitive D2 talent for a while, earning numerous national qualifications across all three seasons and earning multiple All-American honors. He placed 13th at the 2019 D2 NCAA XC Championships and posted marks of 4:07 (mile), 8:08 (3k) and 13:54 (5k).

However, with the pandemic behind him, the Screaming Eagle star turned into the one of Division Two's greatest national-caliber distance threats on the indoor oval.

This past winter, Winders ran solid national qualifying marks. However, at 2022 NCAA D2 Indoor Championships, he put together one of the most impressive postseason peaks we have seen since The Stride Report first launched.

Winders posted jaw-dropping marks of 7:57 (3k) and 13:38 (5k) on an indoor 300 meter track to secure two national titles in one national meet, stunning the field with convincing moves that other D2 stars failed to match.

His outdoor track season as a bit quieter, failing to earn All-American honors, but Winders' was flat-out incredible during the winter months and suddenly looks like someone who could be nationally competitive in the longer distances at the D1 level.

Now, as he moves to Iowa State, Winders will fit-in perfectly to a program that is trying to replace some the scoring potency and depth that the Cyclones have lost due to expired eligibility.

Iowa State will now be without Wesley Kiptoo, Thomas Pollard, Festus Lagat and Ryan Ford from their 2nd place lineup which ran at the 2021 cross country national meet this past fall. On paper, that's four men who have finished in the top-50 of a cross country national meet.

Winders, when he's at his best, can absolutely replace the scoring value of one of those guys. And while he certainly won't replace all of the firepower that those four provided, Winders can at least stop (some of) the bleeding and act as the glue that maintains a cohesive lineup which features Gable Sieperda, Ezekiel Kibichii and Chad Johnson.

On the track, Winders' effectiveness will ultimately hinge on which version of him we see in a Cyclone singlet. If he continues his wild progression that we saw from him at the D2 indoor national meet earlier this winter, then he'll be a truly competitive national-caliber runner at the D1 level.

However, that form of Winders wasn't necessarily on full display this past spring.

Either way, securing talent like him can only spell good things for an Iowa State program that is trying to rebuild and reload following the departure of elite distance talents from Ames.