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Transfer Market (Part 21)
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- May 20, 2022
- 8 min read
Have a transfer tip? Send us an email at contact@thestridereport.com and we'll look into it.
Katy-Ann McDonald (LSU to Georgetown)
Georgetown has announced that LSU superstar Katy-Ann McDonald will be joining the program next year as a graduate transfer. She is expected to have one full year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.
There is a good argument to be had that McDonald's move to Georgetown is the biggest and most impactful transfer of the new year. In fact, that may continue to be the case throughout the always-busy summer months.
That's because McDonald is beyond elite, having the best season of her life this spring, specifically in the middle distances. The LSU superstar has been one of the best combined 800 meter and 1500 meter runners in the NCAA this year, boasting new personal bests of 2:00.98 and 4:12, respectively.
At the moment, McDonald currently shares the NCAA lead in the 800 meters with Kennesaw State's Sarah Hendrick and sits at NCAA #9 in the 1500 meters. Earlier this season, McDonald earned a pair of wins in the 800 meters and the 1500 meters at the ultra-competitive Bryan Clay Invitational.
In terms of her times, McDonald is easily one of the more elite middle distance talents that the NCAA has to offer. Not only that, but she's also a very respectable and highly valuable cross country runner.
The long-time LSU standout has finished as high as 12th place at the increasingly more competitive SEC XC Championships. In fact, she has been a three-time top-20 finisher at the SEC XC Championships and has even finished 6th at the South Central Regional Championships, eventually qualifying for the NCAA XC Championships this past fall.
When it comes to Georgetown, few women are better fits for this team than McDonald. The Hoyas are known for their top-tier middle distance prowess, recently producing elite professional 1500 meter runner Josette Norris and even bringing rookie Melissa Riggins to national prominence this year.
At the same time, the DC-based university also thrives in cross country, often battling with Villanova, Butler and Providence for BIG East titles and consistently appearing at the NCAA XC Championships.
According to TFRRS, the Hoya women are expected to lose at least one woman from their varsity lineup. And while everyone else is set to return, the occasional gaps that formed within Georgetown's top-seven last fall could certainly be bridged.
Thankfully, the Hoyas have also added Grace Jensen and Andrea Claeson to their 2022 cross country roster. On paper, they are very similar to Katy-Ann McDonald in terms of their middle distance identity and cross country value.
However, McDonald has shown much more recent improvement and has displayed glimpses of low-stick potential. While she certainly has a ways to go until she gets to that point, the Hoyas now look like a formidable foe for almost anyone on the east coast.
The Georgetown women now appear to have multiple All-American candidates, tons of promising depth, highly experienced veterans and middle-lineup scorers who can stabilize this entire varsity group.
McDonald truly puts this cross country team over the top and makes them one of the better squads in the NCAA for the upcoming fall season by filling any point scoring gaps that once made the Hoyas vulnerable.
On paper, it's a perfect match.
When paired with a few other marquee names, the Tiger-turned-Hoya may also have a chance to be on a nationally competitive DMR. And if she doesn't win a national title this spring, then her chances of doing so in 2023 seem fairly realistic.
Kevin Ramos (Southern Utah to California Baptist)
California Baptist has announced that Southern Utah's recent breakout cross country scorer will be joining the Lancers as a transfer starting next year. According to TFRRS, he has at least two seasons of cross country eligibility remaining, although it appears that he has the potential for a third cross country season.
Ramos also has at least three seasons of eligibility remaining in both indoor track and outdoor track, although it's possible that he may still have full eligibility remaining on the oval.
Admittedly, Ramos' times on the track don't necessarily jump off the page. However, that is not what we will be focusing on today. Instead, we need to look at his accolades on the grass to fully appreciate how good Ramos is.
The former Southern Utah standout had a huge breakout season last fall. He earned a surprisingly strong 31st place finish at Joe Piane before holding his own at Nuttycombe and placing 53rd overall.
In the postseason, Ramos maintained his strong scoring presence, placing 9th at the BIG Sky XC Championships, 33rd at the Mountain Regional Championships and 103rd at the NCAA XC Championships.
Reliability is arguably the best trait that Ramos boasts, never finishing any worse than a third scorer for a Southern Utah cross country team that qualified for the national meet. It's one thing to flex great development and progression, but to consistently perform at that high of a level is promising.
With California Baptist now completing their four-year transition process from Division Two to Division One, the Lancers will now be able to compete and qualify for NCAA Championships in all three seasons.
This is important as Ramos looks like he has the potential to be an individual national qualifier. Of course, in the West region, that will admittedly be a challenge.
But the good news is that according to TFRRS, four of the Lancers' top-five men will be returning in 2022, meaning that California Baptist could have a sneaky-good team this fall. They did, after all, place 14th at the wildly loaded FSU Pre-National Invite this past fall, taking down some solid distance programs in the process.
Is Ramos the missing piece that California Baptist needs in order to score Kolas points? It's certainly possible, but if he maintains his recent progression and becomes a true low-stick, then the Lancers could be a fairly strong sleeper team this fall.
Ana Weaver (BYU to Utah State)
The Stride Report has confirmed that current BYU freshman Ana Weaver will be transferring to Utah State this summer. She has three years of eligibility remaining in both cross country and indoor track, as well as all four years of eligibility remaining outdoor track, all according to TFRRS.
Weaver was one of the marquee names in BYU's loaded freshman class this year. Weaver made a name for herself in high school by running 16:42 for 5000 meters on the grass while earning personal bests of 4:49 for 1600 meters and 10:15 for 3200 meters.
In 2019, Weaver finished 14th at the Foot Locker National Championships and 29th at the NXN Championships. During the pandemic-altered 2020 cross country season, she finished 4th at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions.
Since coming to BYU, Weaver has been a solid talent, although some races of hers have been better than others. She had a strong start to her cross country season by finishing 6th overall against a respectable field at the FSU Open before faltering a bit in the postseason.
On the indoor oval, she improved her 5k personal best to 16:32 and ran 9:52 for 3000 meters (unconverted) at altitude.
Weaver will now transfer into a Utah State program that is undergoing a transition period of sorts. The Aggies earned a team berth to the NCAA XC Championships this past fall behind the scoring prowess Katie Struthers and Micaela Rivera.
However, those two women are listed as seniors on TFRRS and are not expected to return in the fall of 2022. Luckily for Utah State, the rest of this lineup does return and with Ana Weaver now on this team, the Aggies have the potential to put together one more national qualifying campaign with their remaining group.
Coach Gulden has done a fantastic job with both of his men's and women's teams when it comes to general progression and the development of depth. Both of his squads have outperformed expectations multiple times and the same could be done here.
Admittedly, it's hard to know which version of Weaver we'll see come October and November. However, what we do know is that she has the potential to be a legitimate high-impact scorer for the Utah State women. That doesn't necessarily mean that she'll be an All-American or a low-stick, but her scoring potential could change this lineup for the better.
And if that happens, then the team from Logan, Utah might surprise a few people...again.
Ian Johnson (Transfer Portal)
The Stride Report has confirmed that Ashland's Ian Johnson is on the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. He is expected to have only one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining.
Johnson is one of the more dynamic middle distance talents at the Division Two level. The Ashland standout has run 1:49 for 800 meters, 3:47 for 1500 meters and 4:05 in the mile. The two-time national qualifier also earned double All-American honors in the mile and the DMR at the 2021 indoor national meet, placing 5th overall in both events.
There is a ton of value that Johnson brings to the table for whoever he signs with. He can absolutely be a scorer in most conferences and his middle distance prowess makes him an elite tactical miler at the D2 level.
When Johnson is firing on all cylinders, he's a very underrated name and a challenging runner to defeat. His speed is top-notch and that can often be reflected in his mile/1500 meter races.
Admittedly, 2022 has not been Johnson's best year, but the Ohio native could capitalize on his final year of eligibility at the right program. Highly successful 800 meter programs like Ohio State or Akron would be great landing spots for Johnson if staying in-state is a priority.
Either way, Johnson is one of the more underappreciated names who is currently on the portal.
Jake Hall (Transfer Portal)
The Stride Report has confirmed that Ashland's Jake Hall is on the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. He is expected to have one year of eligibility remaining in all three seasons of competition.
Hall has had mixed success during his time at Ashland, but his 4:07 personal best in the mile does stand out. That mark was produced this past winter on Grand Valley State's 300 meter indoor track. He also ran his 1:54 personal best for 800 meters this past winter as well.
Those recent personal bests may suggest that Hall still has some untapped potential that could be fully realized in a new environment. When he's racing at his best, he can be a fairly competitive name who can surprise some people.
If Hall stays at the D2 level, he could emerge as a nationally competitive name capable of potentially qualifying for the national meet. Given his 4:07 PR, that's not entirely unrealistic. He has, after all, already made one national meet appearance in 2021, emerging as a leg on Ashland's All-American DMR.
Nick Ponzi (Transfer Portal)
The Stride Report has confirmed that Ashland's Nick Ponzi is on the transfer portal as a regular transfer. He is expected to have two years of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.
Ponzi thrives in the middle distances much like his aforementioned teammates. However, the 800 meters is where he's best, running as fast as 1:51 on an indoor 300 meter track. While his consistency has fluctuated at times, his progression has been very encouraging.
This soon-to-be former Ashland runner was posting 1:58 and 2:00 marks in his first two indoor 800 meter races of his freshman year. Now, he has emerged as one of the faster half-milers in the country.
Ponzi still needs to work on his consistency and run a bit faster to be a national-caliber name. However, he is more than capable of reaching that point. His development has been promising and it's clear that he still has tons of upside.
With two years of eligibility left, Ponzi is a very underrated transfer asset who could pay dividends if placed in the right environment.
