BREAKING: Oklahoma State Freshman Phenom Natalie Cook Enters Transfer Portal

Photo via Josh Kutcher

On Wednesday, The Stride Report received notice from a trusted source that Oklahoma State freshman Natalie Cook has entered the transfer portal. TSR was later able to receive confirmation of the tip.

Natalie Cook, one of the greatest American prep distance runners in the history of the sport, recently sustained a navicular stress reaction in her foot. Her official diagnosis followed the conclusion of the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships where the Cowgirl rookie faded to last place in the women's 5000 meters.

Despite a rather underwhelming indoor track season, Cook was still able to show elite value on the grass and on the indoor oval at the beginning of Decemember.

During the 2022 cross country season, Cook secured a pleasantly surprising win at the Cowboy Jamboree over a top-tier field. The first-year collegiate talent later finished 7th at the NCAA XC Championships before running an American U20 5k record of 15:24 at Boston University a few weeks later.

Prior to this news, and strictly based on TFRRS, the Oklahoma State women were set to bring back all seven of their varsity runners from last fall's NCAA XC Championships. That lineup earned the final spot on the podium (4th place) back in November.

Cook, the 2021 Eastbay XC National Championship and 2021 Garmin RunningLane XC National Championship winner, will enter the transfer portal with four full seasons of outdoor track eligibility and three seasons of both cross country and indoor track eligibility.

It is currently unclear where Cook is considering as her next collegiate landing spot.