NEWS: Multi-Time All-American Emily Covert Enters Transfer Portal as Graduate Transfer

Written by Conor Daly, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin

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The Stride Report has recently learned via three separate sources that Colorado’s Emily Covert has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. She is expected to hold one season of cross country eligibility and potentially multiple seasons of eligibility on the track based on her TFRRS resume.

The news comes just one week after TSR reported that current Colorado freshman standout, Karrie Baloga, had entered the transfer portal as an undergraduate transfer.

Covert, who has battled injuries and illness over the last year and a half, has been a crucial part of the Buffaloes’ success throughout her tenure. Earlier this fall, Covert ran to 42nd place at the Nuttycombe Invite and 12th place at the final-ever PAC-12 XC Championships before placing 50th at the NCAA XC Championships.

But before then, this Minnesota native had put together a far more complete resume.

Even before this fall, Covert’s cross country resume has been loaded. She has finished as high as 31st place at the cross country national meet (in the fall of 2021), was the bronze medalist at the 2022 PAC-12 XC Championships and was the silver medalist at the 2021 PAC-12 XC Championships.

On paper, the long-time Buffalo star would have an instant impact as a top-end scorer, if not a low-stick, for any team in the NCAA.

Come track season, Covert is a true long distance threat. Even though she may be better as the race distance gets longer, Covert has shown that she is capable of performing at the highest level over 3000 meters as well as her main events, the 5000 meters and the 10,000 meters.

Covert holds outstanding personal bests across all three of those events. Over the last few years, she has run times of 9:04 (3k), 15:35 (5k) and 32:30 (10k).

Covert’s impressive marks across all three of those events has allowed her to contribute for her team at the national level across all three seasons. At the 2022 indoor national meet, she finished 10th in the 5k. At the 2022 outdoor national meet, she improved upon that finish with a 4th place run in the 10k. She did, however, sit out for nearly the entirety of the 2023 indoor and outdoor track seasons.

The highly accomplished Colorado star is viewed as one of the most valuable graduate transfers currently available. She is a crucial piece to any cross country program and is a workhorse on the track over the longer events.

There is no clear or obvious next destination for Covert, but some destinations do seem to be more likely than others (based solely on speculation and perceived fit).

The Northern Arizona women, led by Coach Mike Smith, would make sense to be a leading candidate. Strikingly similar to Colorado, the Lumberjacks are an aerobic-based program that live at altitude. Moreover, like the Buffaloes, this team has had tremendous success on the cross country course and at the longer events on the oval.

After their runner-up finish at the NCAA XC Championships earlier this month, a fall campaign that was heavily boosted by the introduction of numerous top-level transfers, the NAU women have caught up with the success of their male counterparts. The addition of Covert would only further their goal of snagging NCAA gold in 2024.

It’s also more than plausible that Covert finds herself on the west coast under the guidance of Shalane Flanagan at Oregon. Since Flanagan’s arrival, the Ducks have had great success on the transfer portal, landing names like Mia Barnett, Victoria Patterson, Dalia Frias, Sam McDonnell and Tatum Miller. However, Covert's strength-based fitness would slightly deviate from the 1500 meter-centric contingent of talent that the Ducks have recently amassed.

As we mentioned earlier, Covert is a Minnesota native, making schools near/around the Heartland region realistic options for the veteran. Schools such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State or even Notre Dame would seemingly be good pairings for Covert's skillset.

The former program (Wisconsin) just landed D2 superstar Lindsay Cunningham, returns top-50 talent Leane Willemse, are potentially in the running to land another notable graduate transfer and will benefit from BIG 10 rival, Michigan State, losing many key women in 2024.