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NEWS: Ole Miss Hires Under Armour's Cory Leslie as Next Distance Coach
Written by Aimee Morganti, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
Ole Miss has announced that Cory Leslie, who spent almost five years at the helm of the Under Armour's Mission Run Baltimore Distance professional team, has been hired to lead the Rebels' distance program.
This decision stems from a ripple effect of coaching changes that saw Brandon Hazouri, who was initially hired at Ole Miss, be retained at Wake Forest due to a last-second promotion to lead the Demon Deacons' women's team. Leslie will replace the Rebels' former distance coach, Adam Smith, who was hired in early July to be William & Mary’s next Director of Cross Country and Track & Field.
Throughout his last five years in Baltimore, Leslie had plenty of success with Under Armour athletes. During his tenure, his now-former men’s team made their mark on the international scene by producing two Olympians, three World Outdoor Championship qualifiers, four World Indoor Championship qualifiers, five World XC Championship qualifiers, two Commonwealth Games qualifiers and two Pan-American 1500-meter medallists.
The program has successfully elevated many international athletes' careers, including Canada’s Foster Malleck and Great Britain’s Adam Fogg.
As an athlete, Leslie took 7th place in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the 2016 USA Olympic Trials. He began his coaching career at Furman University as an assistant coach in 2012 where he stayed for four years. Leslie concluded his time with the Paladins having seen the team make two NCAA Championship appearances, win six Southern Conference team titles and produce 16 Southern Conference individual champions on the track.
Leslie was also an assistant coach at George Mason University and Arizona State University before spending a year as the Sun Devils' head cross country coach. A year later, he became the Director and an assistant coach for Tinman Elite until he joined Under Armour’s Mission Run Baltimore distance team in September of 2021.
Over the last decade or two, the Ole Miss men and women have developed a strong reputation of middle distance and long distance success. Former Rebel Sintayehu Vissa was crowned the 2022 NCAA 1500-meter champion while her teammate, Mario Garcia Romo, recorded a 1500-meter runner-up finish at the same meet.
Those two former Rebels went on to sign professional contracts with On and represent their respective countries of Italy and Spain over 1500 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
This past spring, Ole Miss had 12 middle distance and long distance athletes qualify for the 2026 East Regional Championships over five different events.
At the 2025 NCAA XC Championships, the Ole Miss men finished 22nd overall, a three-spot improvement from their 2024 NCAA XC Championships finish. The Rebel women last qualified for the NCAA XC Championships in 2023 where they placed 21st, led by Ryann Helmers' 23rd place All-American finish.
