DEVELOPING: Silan Ayyildiz Now Listed on Oregon's TFRRS Roster

As of Monday morning, Silan Ayyildiz, a top distance talent in the transfer portal, now appears on Oregon's TFRRS roster. Last week, multiple sources informed The Stride Report that the now-former South Carolina runner was expected to join the Ducks starting this winter. As of Friday, an official signing was expected to take place this week.

It is uclear if Ayyildiz will be eligible to compete during the 2024 indoor track season.

With personal bests of 4:32 (mile) and 4:12 (1500), as well as multiple seasons of eligibility remaining across all three seasons, this soon-to-be Oregon runner was one of the more valuable transfer targets this winter.

Not only that, but Ayyildiz also finished 7th at the 2023 SEC XC Championships, emerging as a legitimate three-season threat for whoever signed her.

On paper, the Oregon women are the perfect team for this former SEC runner. The Ducks have developed a large handful of elite milers on their roster and have also done an outstanding job at recruiting top talents from the transfer portal. Former Virginia and UCLA star, Mia Barnett, is a perfect example.

With Izzy Thornton-Bott seemingly out of eligibility, adding someone like Ayyildiz to the fold feels like a timely and appropriate move for Oregon. The Turkish metric miler makes this already-young team even younger (in terms of eligibility) while still retaining the ability to be competitive in major postseason races.

And given Oregon's ability to somewhat effectively translate their 1500 meter and mile success to the grass, Ayyildiz's skillset couldn't be a more perfect fit for how Coach Shalane Flanagan seemingly wants to build this roster.

When stepping back, the Eugene-based women now have four different women in their program who have run 4:12 or faster for 1500 meters. That group includes Maddy Elmore, Klaudia Kazimierska, Mia Barnett and now Silan Ayyildiz. The former three names have all run 4:08 or faster for the metric mile.