BREAKING: Clemson Signs Top Transfer Prospect & NCAA XC All-American Judy Kosgei

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Earlier today, Clemson announced that they have signed Judy Kosgei from the transfer portal. The now-former South Carolina star is expected to have three full years of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.

Kosgei was one of the top transfer prospects in the NCAA this summer, boasting fantastic range as well as national meet success. On the track, the future Tiger has posted marks of 2:01 (800) and 4:07 (1500). She was also a 19th place All-American at the NCAA XC Championships last fall.

Admittedly, Kosgei's decision to join the Clemson women is a bit of a surprise. The Tigers are predominately known for their investments in the sprints and the middle distances. And while Kosgei does boast excellent turnover, having a top-tier miler with nationally competitive cross country credentials is not something that we have often seen from this program.

Of course, rising sophomore Gladys Chepngetich is the most obvious counterpoint to that argument. The 23-year old from Kenya was fantastic in her first year with the Tigers, dropping outstanding marks of 1:59 (800) and 4:13 (1500). And just like Kosgei, she too was a cross country All-American last fall, placing 24th at the NCAA XC Championships.

On paper, the pairing of Kosgei with Chepngetich is brilliant. Both women complement each other beautifully with skillsets that are almost identical to each other. The range from just one of those women would provide tons of scoring value for any team in the NCAA. But to now have two women who can theoretically attack most distances at a nationally competitive level, while still boasting three entire years of eligibility, is almost unheard of.

And yet, despite that likely lethal duo, the Clemson women still have tons of work to do if they are going to be anywhere close to a competitive team on the grass. While Kosgei and Chepngetich should carry this group with their low-stick efforts, the depth of their lineup will need to be far stronger moving forward. Last fall, the Tigers finished in 14th place out of 15 teams at the ACC XC Championships.

Photo via Andrew LeMay

But possibly the biggest winners of this transfer move are the women of South Carolina.

Yes, the same team that Kosgei transferred out of.

There's no denying that Kosgei's departure from Columbia, South Carolina is a brutal loss for a team that has rarely had a star-caliber distance runner like her. However, Kosgei ending up in the ACC rather than the SEC means that she won't rack up conference meet points over the next three years against the very program that first introduced her to the NCAA.

And given the insatiable appetite that Florida seemingly has for transfer stars, the Gamecocks can breathe a sigh of relief after plenty of speculation suggested that Kosgei had the potential to be a Gator.

On a 1 to 10 scale, how surprising is it that Judy Kosgei signed with Clemson?

• 1-2-3 (Not Surprising At All)
• 4-5 (Somewhat Surprising)
• 6-7-8 (Very Surprising)
• 9-10 (Absolutely Stunned)