Transfer Market (Part 16)

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Alex Phillip (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that John Carroll's Alex Phillip is in the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. Assuming that he competes during the upcoming outdoor track season, Phillip is expected to have two seasons of eligibility remaining in all three seasons of competition.

Phillip is an absolute superstar at the D3 level, asserting himself as one of the best distance runners in Division Three history over the last year despite his relative youth.

The John Carroll star won the cross country national title this past fall and recently won national titles in the 5000 meters and the 3000 meters last week. Phillip also has three other All-American honors in addition to his three national titles.

When it comes to times, Phillip has some of the quickest marks in NCAA history. Not only is his 4:05 mile PR incredibly impressive, but his 3k personal best of 8:07 currently sits at NCAA #3 All-Time behind Aidan Ryan (who ran 7:54 this winter) and Ben Sathre who sits just 0.90 seconds ahead of Phillip.

In the 5k, Phillip's record-eligible PR of 14:10 has him sitting at NCAA #5 All-Time (D3 indoors). However, his actual personal best is a jaw-dropping mark of 13:58 which he ran on a 300 meter track back in December. When you factor in the "all-conditions" bests for the indoor track seasons, Phillip sits at NCAA #3 All-Time in the division.

Phillip is clearly one of the most elite distance runners in Division Three and his resume could absolutely contribute to the highest levels of D1 competition. His ongoing progression, paired with his numerous seasons of remaining eligibility, gives him significant value in the portal.

Phillip is interested in schools such as Colorado, Portland, Wisconsin, NC State and Colorado State. However, he is also open to other programs who may be interested.

For programs in need of another key cross country scorer or someone who could eventually evolve into a D1 low-stick, Phillip is the perfect candidate.

His recent breakout year suggests that he could eventually become a true front-runner. Meanwhile, his current credentials make him a realistic middle lineup scorer or a strong backend option for some of the best distance programs in the nation.

From a value standpoint, few distance talents hold the same potential that Phillip does.

Travis Koekemoer (Transfer Portal)

One of the more underrated distance talents in the NCAA, Travis Koekemoer is currently in the transfer portal as a regular transfer. The Campbell ace is expected to have a full four years of cross country eligibility remaining once he transfers. He will also have an extensive amount of eligibility remaining in both indoor track and outdoor track.

Koekemoer is a respectable distance talent on the oval, running 1:52 (800), 3:46 (1500) and 4:03 (mile). However, his real value lies in the steeplechase. In that event, the current Campbell distance standout has run under the 9:00 barrier four different times in his lone outdoor track season, ultimately earning a personal best of 8:50.

Koekemoer later finished 15th at the 2021 NCAA East Regional Championships in the steeplechase, just three spots out from a bid to the national meet.

With so much eligibility still remaining and so much promise already shown on the track, Koekemoer could be a major steal for whichever program lands him.

It also doesn't hurt that steeplechasers often translate their fitness to cross country, an area that Koekemoer has yet to compete in.

Andrea Claeson (Boston University to Georgetown)

The Patriot League is beginning to see some turnover amongst their top ranks. First it was Ashlyn Ramos choosing to finish her eligibility at Duke, now it is Andrea Claeson who is headed to Georgetown as a graduate transfer.

Claeson is expected to have at least one season of eligibility remaining in cross country (according to TFRRS), although it is unclear if she will have additional eligibility for the indoor and outdoor track seasons.

Claeson has been a phenomenal distance talent for the Terriers, especially as of late.

On the grass, the Swedish distance runner placed 3rd at the Patriot League XC Championships this past fall. She later went on to place 55th at the Northeast Regional XC Championships.

However, Claeson's best performances on the grass and dirt came before the 2021 cross country season. The soon-to-be Hoya finished 2nd at the 2021 Patriot League Winter XC Championships which individually qualified her for the NCAA Winter XC Championships.

Claeson's best finish regional finish came during the fall of 2019 when she finished 29th at the Northeast Regional XC Championships.

Outside of her proven cross country consistency, Claeson has actually shown us that she is better on the track.

This past winter, in what some people may call a breakout season for the Boston University star, Claeson ran times of 2:07 (800), 4:20 (1500 en route), 4:39 (mile) and 9:20 (3k). She went on to win Patriot League titles in the mile and the 3k while also placing 4th in the 4x800 meter relay and 3rd in the DMR.

In case it wasn't obvious, landing Claeson is a massive win for the Georgetown women. Despite the Hoyas already boasting some promising middle distance standouts, Claeson adds valuable depth and plenty of potential scoring in a variety of areas.

When it comes to cross country, Claeson offers plenty of scoring reassurance. The Georgetown women had a strong top-four last year, but the backend of their lineup was a clear vulnerability in terms of points.

While the team is expected to return many of their best women from this past fall, they are also expected to lose top-five runner Kiera Bothwell.

Claeson doesn't solve all of the scoring challenges that the Georgetown women faced last fall (which weren't many). However, she certainly mitigates at least some of the potential damages that come from losing Bothwell.

And because of that, the Hoyas will continue to be a challenging team to toe the line against come October and November.

Kevin Kirk (Dixie State to Weber State)

According to one source, Kevin Kirk is transitioning from Dixie State to Weber State as a graduate transfer. The soon-to-be Weber State runner is expected to have one season of eligibility remaining in both outdoor track and in cross country.

According to TFRRS, he has never raced during the indoor track season.

Kirk recently had a breakout race at the WAC XC Championships this past fall, finishing 9th in Dixie State's second cross country conference appearance at the D1 level.

The Trailblazers recently left the D2 level and the RMAC to join the WAC.

The Weber State men will retain many of their varsity runners from this past fall. However, their squad was somewhat young in 2021 based strictly on eligibility. That's why having a veteran like Kirk can only help the Wildcats, especially if he is able to carry his momentum from last fall into the 2022 cross country season.

If he does that and is able to build upon his recent momentum, then Kirk could find himself as a top-five scorer for this team come October and November.

Niall Ryan (Wake Forest to Tulane)

Kyle Johnson (Santa Clara to Tulane)

Donal Devane (Ireland to Tulane)

Conrad Heinemann (Germany to Tulane)

Arturs Lapins (Latvia to Tulane)

Allie Nelson (Samford to Tulane)

Let's discuss all of these moves at once, shall we?

Former Northern Illinois coach Adrian Myers has been making major waves in recruiting for Tulane, specifically from overseas and in the transfer portal, over the last few years.

Myers, who led the Northern Illinois women to their first Mid-American Conference title during the altered 2020 cross country season, eventually joined Tulane as the program's new Director of Track & Field and Cross Country in the summer of 2021.

Recently, Coach Myers landed Niall Ryan, a transfer from Wake Forest. The still-young distance runner has a plethora of eligibility remaining, although cross country is the only season that he has officially competed in collegiately.

Ryan showed promise in his first two cross country seasons, only one of which counted towards his eligibility. This past fall, he finished 11th at the Adidas XC Challenge, 6th at the Royals XC Challenge and eventually made the Demon Deacons ACC lineup, a meet where Ryan finished 80th place overall.

Despite his youth, it's clear that there is still plenty of exciting potential within Ryan. He ran 14:30 for 5000 meters on the outdoor oval last spring and is clearly in better shape than he was in high school when he ran 9:38 for the 3000 meter steeplechase.

Tulane will be able to build around a true long-term piece in Ryan and frankly, that may be the greatest asset that Coach Myers needs to be build something exciting at Tulane.

Of course, Ryan isn't the only recent valuable addition to this team.

Santa Clara's Kyle Johnson is also joining the Tulane men as a graduate transfer. The Santa Clara Broncos have become the new home for many distance transfers, but Johnson will now venture to a new program for his graduate studies.

Johnson is a respectable distance talent, running 14:23 for 5000 meters. While some of his performances have been better than others, his move to the American Athletic Conference should be a great fit.

While still a competitive conference, Johnson can have a greater impact on his team's scoring without having to face the incredible depth of BYU, Portland, Gonzaga and a few other teams in the West Coast Conference.

And that brings us to the international additions.

Irish distance runner Donal Devane, German distance runner Conrad Heinemann and Latvian distance runner Arturs Lapins are three additional talents who will be joining Tulane in the near future, giving this team a major scoring spark and great depth.

Devane has run 14:31 for 5000 meters, Heinemann has run 6:08 for the 2000 meter steeplechase and Lapins has run 9:06 for the 3000 meter steeplechase.

There isn't necessarily one name who truly stands out more than the others, but each of these men have tons of exciting potential. They clearly add scoring value to a Tulane program that is obviously building depth and preparing for the future.

There's no guarantee that all of these men will be collegiate stars, but if one of them turns into a top scorer or a true low-stick, then this recruiting haul will be considered a major success.

Finally, we have Allie Nelson, the sister of former NCAA champion Karissa Nelson. Allie will be transitioning to Tulane as a graduate transfer and is expected to have at least one season of eligibility remaining for indoor track and cross country (according to TFRRS) starting next fall.

Nelson has proven to be a fairly reliable conference meet scorer in the Southern Conference. Since joining Samford in 2017, Nelson has been a top-eight conference meet finisher on the track seven different times, including the DMR.

Keep in mind that the distance events in the Southern Conference have often been dominated by the established Furman Paladins.

With personal bests of 4:30 (1500), 4:57 (mile) and 17:03 (5k), Nelson isn't necessarily going to revamp a distance program entirely on her own. However, she does have solid marks and she can clearly be a steady contributor, even on the grass.

Nelson finished 15th at the Southern Conference XC Championships this past fall and later went on to place in the top-70 at the NCAA South Regional XC Championships.

Jocelyn Long (Notre Dame to Ole Miss)

Is Ole Miss becoming the new ideal destination spot for some of the nation's better women's distance talents? After seeing Sintayehu Vissa transfer from Saint Leo to Ole Miss and have so much success, that may be the case.

Notre Dame's Jocelyn Long will be transitioning to Ole Miss starting next fall. The graduate transfer is expected to join the Rebels with at least one season of eligibility remaining across cross country, indoor track and outdoor track (according to TFRRS).

Long has been a consistent backend contributor for Notre Dame in cross country over the last few years. While there isn't necessarily one race of hers in particular that truly stands out on the grass, Long has still be a solid name who often finds herself in competitive varsity lineups.

Her best finish is a 37th place result at the 2021 Great Lakes Regional XC Championships. She also has two appearances at the NCAA XC Championships.

On the track, Long has some fairly quick times that can certainly capture your attention. She has run 4:20 for 1500 meters and 16:22 for 5000 meters. Those marks might allow her to be one of the more competitive distance talents on Ole Miss' roster.

We often know what we are going to get with Long as she has been fairly even and very consistent throughout her NCAA career.

While she may not make a massive scoring impact within the Rebels' lineup during cross country, she will at least be able to fill-in for a handful of departing seniors and offer the same backend depth that the Ole Miss women flexed last year.

And on a team that is still fairly young by eligibility standards, that's a good thing.