Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Dec 7, 20235 min
Did you enjoy yesterday's Transfer Market article? If you did, awesome! In that case, you're going to love this piece. And if you didn't? Well, let's give this edition of our Transfer Market analysis a try, shall we?
As we highlighted yesterday, TSR's general rule of thumb when it comes to transfers is that graduate transfers are never "lost" by their original school. In many instances, athletes simply can't find the graduate program that they are looking for at their current schools or their conference (i.e. the Ivy League) doesn't allow for additional years of eligibility to be used.
That is not the case for every athlete, and there are certainly other reasons for someone to move as a graduate transfer, but it is something that we (and coaches) like to make note of when publishing articles like these.
Back in late November, South Carolina announced that they have signed Bradley Makuvire, a former long distance standout at Tulane, as a graduate transfer. He will be joining the team in January. The former Green Wave ace is expected to hold one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of eligibility. However, the South Carolina men do not have a cross country team, making Makuvire's additional season on the grass largely negligible.
On the track, Makuvire has been a very solid name, holding personal bests of 13:57 (5k) and 28:50 (10k). However, it also seems fair to say that this former Tulane runner is capable of posting even faster times given his efforts on the grass.
This past fall, the Zimbabwean distance talent produced strong finishes each time that he toed the line. The now-former Tulane ace was runner-up at the Southern Showcase meet, the
Arturo Barrios Invite and the Conference USA XC Championships. The names whom he lost to in those races? Ryan Kinnane, Victor Kibiego and Nickolas Scudder, respectively -- three men who were listed in our top-50 individual rankings at least once this past fall.
After placing 6th at the South Central Regional XC Championships, Makuvire ventured to the NCAA XC Championships where he placed a highly commendable 82nd place overall.
Makuvire, who was also at Southeast Louisiana prior to joining the Green Wave, will now head to a South Carolina program that recently underwent a leadership change this past summer with Director Tim Hall now at the helm. In turn, former New Orleans distance coach, Brock Moreaux, was hired to direct the men's and women's distance programs.
Seeing the Gamecocks sign Makuvire is admittedly a surprise. The incoming graduate transfer is at his best on the grass, but South Carolina doesn't have a men's cross country program. And yet, that should only signal how effective Moreaux can be as a recruiter for this SEC program over the long-term.
And to be clear, while Makuvire's signing with South Carolina comes as a surprise, his fit within the SEC as a whole seems appropriate. Teams like Arkansas and Alabama each boast a handful of aerobic-centric distance stars who are often aggressive front-runners. In theory, that kind of racing style should benefit someone like Makuvire who has thrived when races are hard from the gun.
With NCAA star Anass Essayi flexing top-tier marks over 800 meters, the mile and 3000 meters, Makuvire will be able to focus on more of the strength-based races, giving the Gamecocks a full complement of scorers across the entire distance spectrum.
Two weeks ago, the University of Washington announced that Bradley middle distance star, Wilma Nielsen, will be joining the team later this winter as a graduate transfer. The incoming Husky currently holds three years of indoor track eligibility, two years of outdoor track eligibility and one season of cross country eligibility.
One could argue that Wilma Nielsen was one of the more underappreciated middle distance runners in the entire NCAA last winter and spring. Coming into this academic year, the former Bradley had runner posted fantastic times of 2:02.11 (800), 2:38.95 (1k) and 4:11.16 (1500). The Swedish middle distance talent ran her 800 meter and 1500 meter personal bests overseas between late-spring and early-fall.
However, arguably more importantly, Nielsen's 1000 meter PR was a stunning NCAA #2 all-time effort which she posted at The Armory last winter. She was just 0.37 seconds off from the collegiate record.
On paper, Nielsen is an excellent fit for a Washington program that could utilize and leverage her exceptional talent in a variety of ways. The Huskies often go after a nationally competitive DMR during the indoor track season and Nielsen could be an excellent leg at nearly any distance they need.
That lineup flexibility is massive, especially for a team that will likely have numerous women qualified for the national meet in a variety of distance events.
Not only that, but Nielsen's 800 meter prowess will also be paired next to Washington's Carley Thomas who ran 1:59 for the half-mile distance this past summer.
And with other top Husky talents such as Sophie O'Sullivan and Marlena Preigh also boasting top middle distance marks, you could argue that Coach Maurica Powell has one of the better collections of middle distance runners in the nation, including the milers!
It's one thing to be as talented as Nielsen, but it's another thing for her skillset to match the exact ethos of who the Washington women are on the indoor oval.
With so many ways to utilize her talent, her potential to score on the national stage and her ability to be competitive with the Stanford women at the PAC-12 Outdoor Championships, Nielsen feels like one of the best transfer pickups of the winter offseason so far.
Two weeks ago, the University of Washington announced that Penn standout, Maeve Stiles, will be joining the Huskies in the fall of 2024. Once Stiles has finished her time with Penn, the soon-to-be Washington runner is expected to hold two years of eligibility for both cross country and outdoor track as well as one year of indoor track eligibility.
In what feels like a fantastic complement to the recruitment of her future teammate, Wilma Nielsen, this current Ivy League talent will provide a long distance component to Washington's 2024-2025 roster.
On the track, Stiles has produced a handful of respectable marks, including personal bests of 9:16 (3k) and 15:55 (5k). However, one could argue that the current Penn runner is at her best when she is on the grass. In the fall of 2022, during her first-ever collegiate cross country season, Stiles was fantastic, specifically in the postseason.
During that fall campaign, the Quaker distance ace earned top-five finishes at both the Ivy League XC Championships and the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships and later finished an impressive 60th at the NCAA XC Championships despite her inexperience.
Stiles had a delayed start to her 2023 fall campaign. And although her 4th place finish at the Ivy League XC Championships and 8th place finish at the Mid-Atlantic regional meet were respectable results, those efforts didn't showcase the full talent that Stiles truly boasts.
On paper, Stiles is exactly what the Washington women need during cross country. At her best, she is a fringe low-stick who could offer more than just stable scoring. And at the very least, this incoming graduate transfer will offer both excellent depth and backend scoring support.
But maybe the most important part in all of this is that the Huskies' cross country roster will be far more experienced and (theoretically) more fit in the fall of 2024. The veterans of this team will be in their final seasons of cross country eligibility and the still-rising underclassmen will begin to enter their athletic primes -- and it feels like Stiles could as well.