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Transfer Market (Part 43)
- TSR Collaboration
- Jun 2, 2023
- 10 min read
Updated: Jun 3, 2023
First five names written by Garrett Zatlin, last three names written by Gavin Struve
Have a transfer tip? Send us an email at contact@thestridereport.com and we'll look into it.
NOTE: The Stride Report is aware that there are multiple athletes who have announced their transfers who are not mentioned in this article. Those athletes will be highlighted in a future Transfer Market piece. The Stride Report is also aware that there are multiple top-caliber names currently in the transfer portal. However, out of respect for athlete privacy, TSR will not report on certain transfer portal entries until commitments are made public or approvals of publishing are granted.
Carlee Hansen (North Carolina to BYU)
The Stride Report has confirmed that Carlee Hansen has verbally committed to transferring to BYU. While it is unclear if Hansen has officially signed with the Cougars, the expectation is that she will be joining the women in Provo, Utah barring any late-stage changes.
According to TFRRS, Hansen is expected to have two full years of eligibility across all three seasons of competition.
The North Carolina distance talent has slowly evolved into one of the better mile/1500 meter runners in the always-loaded ACC. With personal bests of 4:36 (mile) and 4:14 (1500), Hansen has risen to a nationally competitive tier with some clear upside for growth.
The Utah native has solid cross country credentials, although she hasn't yet reached the point of being a true impact scorer on the grass. That said, the soon-to-be Cougar did finish 122nd at the 2021 NCAA Fall XC Championships.
However, what makes Hansen so special is her tactical prowess. While former Tar Heel teammate Taryn Parks has often been viewed as one of the best tactical milers on the east coast, it's been Hansen who has quietly finished close behind her.
Last spring, Hansen placed 5th overall in the 1500 meter finals at the ACC Outdoor Championships and did the same thing a few weeks ago at the 2023 version of the meet. At the 2023 ACC Indoor Championships, she secured bronze in the mile.
With additional marks of 2:07 (800) and 2:46 (1k) on her resume, it's clear that Hansen brings sneaky-good value to a very young BYU team. And when you look at Coach Diljeet Taylor's history of developing milers, it's hard to imagine Hansen not getting better once she ventures to Provo, Utah.
On paper, this is a perfect athlete-program pairing.
Sage Brooks (Syracuse to Oregon State)
Delaney Griffin (Boise State to Oregon State)
Oregon State has announced that Sage Brooks will be transferring into the program later this fall. The former Syracuse runner is expected to have three full years of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.
Oregon State has also announced that Delaney Griffin will be joining the Beavers later this year as a graduate transfer. The former Boise State talent is expected to have two seasons of indoor track eligibility remaining and two seasons of cross country eligibility remaining. She will also have one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining.
Together, Brooks and Griffin, while not necessarily star-caliber talents, could end up having a monumental impact on the Oregon State women later this fall.
During the 2022 cross country season, the Beavers proved to be a very solid and competitive team. However, they needed a big race at the West Regional XC Championships in order to advance to the national stage.
And luckily for them, they just barely made it into the meet.
While the Oregon State women did make it to Stillwater, Oklahoma last year, it was clear that they needed to bridge a significant gap at the middle portion of their lineup. Christina Geisler was able to fill that role at the West Regional XC Championships, but she is now out of eligibility, leaving the Beavers in need of greater scoring stability.
Luckily, both Sage Brooks and Delaney Griffin have the potential to be just as effective as Giesler was at last year's regional meet.
Brooks, despite holding freshman eligibility last fall, was the runner-up finisher at the PSU Spiked Shoe Invitational. She later finished 32nd at the Cowboy Jamboree, a fantastic performance relative to expectations that offered legitimate, high-end scoring value.
Unfortunately, Brooks would miss the remainder of the season for unknown reasons.
And then there is Delaney Griffin, a Boise State veteran who, at times, can offer great backend depth and scoring support. Last fall, she finished 50th at the Joe Piane Invitational and later placed 31st at the West Regional XC Championships.
For an Oregon State team whose last two scorers finished outside of the top-50 at last year's regional meet, Griffin immediately cuts off a significant amount of points as long as she can replicate those performances more consistently.
With the Beavers returning star-caliber low-sticks in Kaylee Mitchell and Grace Fetherstonhaugh, all Coach Louie Quintana had to do was find enough depth and support to fully capitalize on the overwhelming talent of his 1-2 punch -- and so far, he has done that to perfection.
Admittedly, we still need to see if Brooks can put together a full season and return to her top form from last fall. Additional consistency from Griffin will also be necessary. Regardless, the Oregon State women now have a much higher floor and they are primed to be a more competitive team than they were last year.
Maya Rayle (Harvard to Wisconsin)
The Wisconsin women have announced that they are adding Maya Rayle to their roster starting later this fall. The former Harvard runner is expected to be a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, she has one season of cross country eligibility remaining and two seasons of indoor track eligibility remaining.
Rayle has proven to be a very solid distance talent who, at times, has been overlooked due to the rise of her fellow teammates (current and former) such as Maia Ramsden, Anna Juul and Abbe Goldstein.
With personal bests of 2:51 (1k), 4:45 (mile), 9:21 (3k) and 16:09 (5k), it's clear that the former Crimson runner gets better as the racing distance gets longer. In fact, that couldn't be more evident than when you look at her cross country resume.
After a somewhat slower start to her 2022 cross country season, Rayle found success in the postseason, finishing 6th at the Ivy League XC Championships and then 11th at the Northeast Regional XC Championships.
Rayle's talent, specifically on the grass, feels like it seemingly aligns with the identity of Wisconsin's cross country roster.
Last fall, the Badgers had a large handful of solid distance talents, but no true low-stick. And while there was a clear need for greater firepower, Wisconsin was still able to stay competitive thanks to great depth and limited lineup gaps.
On paper, Rayle's skillset fits perfectly with this team. She's admittedly not the low-stick that the Badgers truly need, but she has a very good chance of contributing to this lineup as a legitimate scorer. Plus, with Lucinda Crouch and Stella Gillman both leaving, this former Harvard runner should have no problem sliding into this team's top-seven.
Shane Cohen (Tampa to Virginia)
Earlier this week, Shane Cohen announced via Instagram that he will be venturing to Virginia as a graduate transfer later this fall. According to TFRRS, the former Tampa middle distance runner is expected to have one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition.
Cohen is a quietly-excellent pickup for the University of Virginia, a program that has placed a significant emphasis on recruiting and developing middle distance standouts as of late. The former Division Two runner holds an 800 meter personal best 1:48.25, a mark that would have made him the Cavaliers' third-best runner in that event this spring behind only Conor Murphy and Gary Martin.
The incoming Cavalier was a D2 All-American at the half-mile distance in the spring of 2021 and is a two-time national meet qualifier. However, it should be noted that the University of Tampa does not have an indoor track team, meaning that Cohen never had a chance to build his national meet resume to the same magnitude of a few other men in Division Two.
This past spring, Cohen admittedly struggled, never dipping under 1:53 (800). However, according to one comment that we were tagged in, the Tampa middle distance talent was coming off of an injury (something that we have not yet confirmed).
Regardless, if and when Cohen returns to peak form, he'll be the perfect replacement for a now-departing Kenton Bachmann, another middle distance graduate transfer with a 1:48 (800) personal best who is now out of eligibility.
Marquette Hanson (Missouri to North Carolina)
Yesterday, Marquette Hanson announced via Instagram that he will be joining the North Carolina men by way of Missouri as a graduate transfer. The former Tiger mainstay is expected to have one season of eligibility in both indoor track and outdoor track after spending five years in Columbia, Missouri.
In addition to Hanson, the Tar Heels have also added Jake Gebhardt to next year's roster, an Indiana standout who announced that he would be transferring to North Carolina a day earlier.
While he isn’t expected to carry any cross country eligibility to Chapel Hill, Hanson should still have an immediate impact for the Tar Heels thanks to his sneaky-strong potency on the track.
His most impressive result is a 3:58 mile PR from the 2022 SEC Indoor Championships. He ran all of his PRs during a two-month span that season, including marks of 13:53 (5k) and 8:03 (3k). There’s reason to believe that those latter two personal bests can be improved upon given Hanson’s range as well as his blend of speed and strength.
It’s also conceivable that Hanson could move up to the 10k on the oval, an event that was lightly contested by UNC this past spring. Hanson's greatest success has come near that distance on the grass and he did, after all, break 30 minutes in the 10k on the cross country course this past fall.
Perhaps his mile speed could give him an edge for a finishing kick in the longer distances. And just as soon, he can be a nationally competitive name in the mile with a small leap in his overall fitness.
If nothing else, Hanson could become a cog for North Carolina's DMR lineup if his coaches believe that he has the requisite turnover for the middle distances. The possibilities for Hanson’s role during his short stint in Chapel Hill are seemingly endless.
Michael Keehan (Penn to Duke)
Earlier this week, Duke announced via Twitter that they have added Penn’s Michael Keehan to their roster as a graduate transfer. He is expected to have one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition.
The recent Ivy League standout will soon join Division Three megastar Ryan Wilson who is also set to join the Blue Devils as a graduate transfer later this year. Keehan, an established steeplechaser, should pair nicely with the former MIT ace who is a top talent in the middle distances.
Keehan is at his best over the water pits and the barriers, holding an impressive 8:36 (steeple) PR which was listed at NCAA #12 on the national leaderboard this spring (prior to the regional meets). However, the Penn standout failed to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Outside of that result, Keehan has mostly proven to be adept in championship settings, winning the Ivy League steeplechase title in early May after finishing runner-up in the event last year. He has also broken 8:50 in the event for three consecutive years.
Regardless, this season has been far and away Keehan’s best. He also dipped under the 4:00 mile barrier during this outdoor track campaign and could serve as an eventual relay piece if Duke has any desire to contest the DMR next winter.
Keehan’s PRs elsewhere include respectable marks of 8:06 (3k) and 14:17 (5k).
The former Penn Quaker also boasts experience and competency on the cross country course where he should continue to improve after his recent rise in the steeplechase.
The Blue Devils are trying to break through to the national meet for the first time since the 2021 NCAA Winter XC Championships. They have also lost a small handful of veterans from last year's scoring lineup which narrowly missed out on extending their cross country season past the regional meets.
This athlete-program pairing makes sense scholastically as Keehan is going from one premier academic institution to another. And perhaps most importantly, it also makes sense athletically.
Keehan gives the Blue Devils an established nationally competitive talent in the steeplechase and someone who should, on paper, be an NCAA Championship qualifier. Remember, this is the same team that developed 8:32 steeplechase standout, Alex Miley, in the spring of 2021.
And in a way, Keehan could become the Blue Devil men’s equivalent of current steeplechase talent, Emily Cole.
Rivaldo Marshall (Indian Hills CC to Iowa)
One of the top half-mile prospects on the open market is joining the arch rival of a school debatably donned “800 U.”
JUCO star Rivaldo Marshall of Indian Hills Community College is transferring to the University of Iowa, rather than Iowa State, according to the Hawkeyes Twitter page from earlier in May. Marshall is expected to have two years of eligibility across both the indoor track and outdoor track seasons, although that is not confirmed.
Marshall is someone who we saw dip into a number of Division One fields during his time at Indian Hills and he more than held his own. His transition to the highest level of collegiate competition should be almost seamless.
This move makes sense for the Jamaica native given that Indian Hills lies in eastern Iowa, roughly 90 minutes from Iowa City. The Hawkeyes have quietly enjoyed solid 800 meter success in recent years, producing acclaimed pacer and NCAA runner-up Erik Sowinski a decade ago. They have also had a number of men running in the 1:47 and 1:48 range for this distance over the past few seasons.
Marshall enters as a half-mile specialist who is already one of the more accomplished middle distance runners who the Hawkeyes have. It should be noted that Antonio Abrego had a fantastic freshman campaign last year, running 1:48 (800), but he hasn't competed since late January of this year.
If this incoming JUCO talent can continue to refine his fitness, then Marshall could plausibly become the best 800-meter runner in the state after Iowa State shockingly failed to advance any athletes to this year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships in the event.
Yes, it's a tall task, but it's not impossible, either.
Marshall blazed to a 1:47.35 personal best in the half-mile last month, beating out teammate and eventual JUCO national champion, Tyrice Taylor. Marshall then ran a 1:48.10 mark at the NJCAA Outdoor Championships two weeks later, but finished in the bronze position.
However, it should be noted that the future Hawkeye ace won the NJCAA indoor national title three months ago and the outdoor national title last year.
It helps that Marshall already has familiarity with the region and the level of competition that he’ll be facing. As such, he’ll be expected to immediately jockey with the BIG 10's best and soon replicate his All-American results in an Iowa singlet.
