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Transfer Market (Part 14)
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Jan 22, 2022
- 5 min read
Have a transfer tip? Send us an email at contact@thestridereport.com and we'll look into it.
As results from Friday and Saturday flood in, we thought now would be a good time to highlight a few key transfers and grad transfers that have been announced (or that we have sourced) over the last few weeks. Let's jump right into it...
Ray Sellaro (Penn to Rutgers)
Justin Cornetta (Penn to Rutgers)
Will Hare (Penn to Rutgers)
There must be something about Penn runners that the Rutgers coaching staff seems to like quite a bit...and vice versa. Over the past week, Rutgers announced that they are adding three of Penn's top milers to their program.
Based on roster listings, these three Penn runners are expected to join the Scarlet Knights next fall, presumably as graduate transfers.
According to TFRRS, all three men hold junior eligibility for this indoor track season with each runner holding varying amounts of spring eligibility. They are also expected to have one season of cross country eligibility remaining after competing this past fall.
Sellaro has run 1:51 for 800 meters, 3:45 for 1500 meters and 4:01 in the mile. The middle distance standout has been a top scorer in the Ivy League dating back as far as 2019 and is a candidate to run under the four minute mile barrier this indoor season unless he opts not to use his eligibility this winter.
Cornetta, meanwhile, owns a mile personal best of 4:05 which he ran last spring. He has also run 1:52 for 800 meters and 3:45 for 1500 meters. The soon-to-be Rutgers standout had a quietly strong 2021 outdoor track season, consistently posting new personal bests or running times that neared those newly founded PRs.
As for Hare, he is one of the more underrated distance talents on this Penn roster. The long distance specialist has run 3:47 for 1500 meters, but thrives in events that are more endurance-based. Hare has run 8:03 for 3000 meters, 14:24 for 5000 meters and 8:51 for the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Much like Cornetta, Hare earned a slew of new personal bests in a variety of distances last spring, leading us to believe that the future Scarlet Knight is only beginning to realize his full potential at the collegiate level.
Adding this trio to Rutgers' future roster is a massive statement for the Scarlet Knights. It also signals that distance coach Matthew Jelly is making an instant impact on a program that has admittedly struggled to stay competitive in the juggernaut conference known as the BIG 10.
Jelly served as the women's distance coach for Rutgers last year before transitioning into a role where he now oversees both the men's and women's programs (according to their roster).
In fact, this trio of Penn graduate transfers aren't the only examples of major recruiting success that coach Jelly has had.
The Rutgers men are set to bring in 4:05 high school miler Gavin Richards starting next year. The Scarlet Knights also have top miler Alexandra Carlson on their current roster, a true freshman who just ran 4:43 in her collegiate indoor debut, upsetting Kentucky's Jenna Gearing and Tori Herman for the win.
Make no mistake, adding Hare, Cornetta and Sellaro to this Rutgers team was not a coincidence. Coach Jelly is looking to revamp the distance portion of this program and in the little time that he has been with this team, he has already made a major impact.
Peter Smith (Army to Iowa State)
Another day, another middle distance standout going to Iowa State. The Cyclones have announced that Peter Smith will be transitioning from Army to Iowa State. It is unclear when Smith will be joining the Cyclones as neither Iowa State nor Army have him listed on their rosters for the 2021-22 academic calendar.
Smith is a highly accomplished middle distance talent who will bring even more depth to the overwhelming 800 meter powerhouse known as Iowa State.
The soon-to-be Cyclone has run 1:49 for 800 meters and won the Patriot League 800 meter title last spring in a time of 1:50.
Smith has only ever run under the 1:50 barrier once, but it's clear that his overall talent can be further refined in what may be the best and deepest 800 meter program in the entire NCAA right now.
At the moment, Iowa State has six men who have run under 1:50 for 800 meters.
Kiki Connell (Northern Iowa to Iowa State)
Sticking with the Iowa State Cyclones, Kiki Connell is transferring from Northern Iowa to join the women in Ames, Iowa. Connell is not currently listed on either roster, leaving us unclear as to when she will be joining the Cyclones.
TFRRS, however, already lists her as part of the ISU roster.
In high school, Connell ran 17:57 for 5000 meters on the grass. The Iowa native also ran 2:16 for 800 meters, 4:47 for 1500 meters and 10:03 for 3000 meters. She also placed 4th at the Iowa XC State Championships back in the fall of 2020.
Last fall, Connell earned a very solid 10th place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference XC Championships before going to the Midwest Regional XC Championships and earning a 54th place finish -- all as a true freshman.
Coach Amy Rudolph has done a phenomenal job of slowly developing most of her roster and building great depth to support her top scorers. In theory, Connell fits into this roster structure incredibly well, boasting the potential to eventually be a legitimate contributor for the Iowa State women on the grass, maybe sooner rather than later.
Ryan Martins (Nebraska to Loyola)
The Stride Report has confirmed that Ryan Martins will be transitioning from Nebraska to Loyola as a graduate transfer starting next fall.
According to TFRRS, Martins' has one season of indoor eligibility remaining and one season of outdoor eligibility remaining. He has not yet competed this winter. Martins is expected to have eligibility remaining for cross country.
Martins is a quietly strong distance talent, proving to be at his best on the grass. The Husker ace finished 22nd at the BIG 10 XC Championships during the winter cross country season. Last fall, he finished 9th at the Chile Pepper XC Festival and later placed 28th at the Midwest Regional XC Championships.
On the track, Martins has run 8:26 for 3000 meters, 14:24 for 5000 meters and 9:21 for the 3000 meter steeplechase. However, after the cross country season he just had, Martins is due for a string of races where he resets those marks with stronger performances.
Martins will join a Loyola program that just went through a massive coaching change. Former Wisconsin assistant distance coach Gavin Kennedy now sits at the helm of this Loyola program while former Binghamton distance coach Pat Murray has since moved to Chicago to fill the assistant distance role.
The Ramblers have also added former NCAA DMR Champion and All-American Theresa Haiss, a standout distance talent while at Arkansas, to their coaching staff as well.
Between Kennedy's experience of working with superstars at Wisconsin, Murray's underrated track record of producing nationally competitive talents at Binghamton and Haiss' extensive understanding of racing national-caliber competition, an incoming graduate transfer like Martins should feel very optimistic about his chances of making significant improvements while at Loyola.
Past Unreported Transfers or Grad Transfers
Mackenna Curtis-Collins (Malone to Wake Forest)
John Gove (Michigan State to North Carolina)
Ruby Stauber (Vanderbilt to Florida State)
Tristan Forsythe (Georgetown to Indiana)
Lainey Studebaker (Ohio State to Dayton)
