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Transfer Market (Part 44): Devin Hart to Texas, Kirami Yego in Portal & Rylee Penn to Florida State
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Jun 20, 2023
- 13 min read
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.
Devin Hart (Stanford to Texas)
Earlier this month, Stanford's Devin Hart announced via Instagram that he will be venturing to the University of Texas as a graduate transfer later this year. He is expected to hold one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition as well as a second season of cross country eligibility (which he is unlikely to use).
Hart will now join a Texas program that is under the new direction of recently-hired distance coach, Greg Metcalf (who was previously at Washington). Last summer, the Longhorns' former distance coach, Pete Watson, left Austin, Texas to become the new Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Boston College.
The incoming graduate transfer is a wildly valuable long distance talent who is far better than some people may realize. Despite being overshadowed by the elite firepower of fellow Stanford teammates such as Ky Robinson, Charles Hicks and Cole Sprout, we've seen Hart quietly produce nationally competitive performances.
This past fall, Hart went from being "good" to "great". After a modest 75th place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree, the former Cardinal runner secured a massive 13th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite. He would later finish 10th at the PAC-12 XC Championships, 8th at the West Regional Championships and 51st at the NCAA XC Championships.
Hart ended his 2022 fall campaign inside the top-50 portion of our individual cross country rankings, settling in at TSR #49.
In an effort to validate his excellent streak of races on the grass, Hart would take to the oval and thrive over the 3k, the 5k and the 10k distances. The soon-to-be Texas runner posted times of 7:51 (3k), 13:29 (5k) and 28:07 (10k). In fact, Hart actually qualified for the indoor national meet at the 5000 meter distance.
Despite posting an exceptional 10k time at the Stanford Invite, Hart wouldn't race again for the rest of the spring months.
While some of his races were better than others, Hart had multiple occasions over the last year where he provided true low-stick value. Of course, with the recent recruitment of Lex and Leo Young, as well as the ongoing development of men like Thomas Boyden, Robert DiDonato and Evan Burke, there is an avenue for the Cardinal men to replicate Hart's scoring potency later this fall.
But when it comes to the Texas men, their ability to add someone like Hart to their 2023 roster is far more impactful than Stanford losing him.
According to TFRRS, the Longhorn men are expected to return everyone from their 2022 cross country lineup which finished 18th overall at last fall's national meet. That group includes top-30 All-American Haftu Knight as well as once-ranked distance talent, Isaac Alonzo.
If Hart can bring the same near-All-American fitness to Austin, Texas that he once held at Stanford, then the Texas men could see a massive upswing in their point scoring potential. Adding someone like Hart to their varsity lineup would cut off a significant amount of points and effectively give the Longhorns a much more top-heavy lineup.
Yes, it's true, Texas' team performance at the 2022 cross country national meet was a bit of an outlier compared to the rest of their fall campaign. Even so, Hart gives this promising contingent of distance talents a chance to be a top-15 program, nationally, come October and November.
Kirami Yego (Transfer Portal)
The Stride Report has confirmed that South Alabama's Kirami Yego has entered the transfer portal as a standard transfer. He is expected to have two seasons of cross country eligibility, two seasons of indoor track eligibility and one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining.
Yego was one of the bigger breakout distance talents of the past year, emerging as a nationally competitive name across all three seasons of competition. The South Alabama runner thrived on the grass this past fall, running incredibly well against the Alabama men, winning the individual title at the Sun Belt XC Championships and then finishing 38th overall on the national stage, his first All-American honor.
On the indoor oval, Yego would run 13:38 for 5000 meters before going on to run 13:34 for that same distance during the spring months. The Jaguar distance ace also ran 28:22 for 10,000 meters to secure a win at the Raleigh Relays while defeating Harvard star Graham Blanks. Yego would qualify for the outdoor national meet in that event where he would place 11th overall.
With roughly two years of eligibility remaining, Yego could prove to be a massively valuable transfer pickup for the right team. The returning cross country All-American can be an instant low-stick for essentially any team that is lucky enough to land him.
And according to one source, Yego has shown interest in joining the Arkansas men.
If that were to happen, then the Razorbacks would be in a far better position than they were last year, boasting a secondary low-stick next to Patrick Kiprop. The men from Fayetteville would still need greater depth and better backend support, but in terms of their scoring structure, Yego would undoubtedly raise their floor.
That same source also informed The Stride Report that Tennessee, Washington State and Alabama were in consideration to potentially sign the Sun Belt star.
Yego landing at Tennessee could prove to be a massively critical transfer pickup for the Volunteers, especially if Dylan Jacobs opts to turn pro this summer. Because if he does, then the need for another low-stick presence could largely be filled by Yego.
Alabama, meanwhile, could potentially add a fourth all-star distance talent to their already-feared trio of stars. While postseason woes have limited the ceiling of the Crimson Tide men in recent seasons, adding Yego to that mix would make the Alabama men a legitimate top-10 threat, nationally, assuming that everyone runs well on the same day.
Washington State, meanwhile, has been unafraid to recruit African distance talents in the past. And as the PAC-12 continues to be headlined by traditional juggernaut programs, adding an All-American talent would at least give the Cougars a starting point towards building a team that could potentially qualify for the national meet.
Simply put, Yego could significantly alter the outlook of numerous teams around the country depending on where he signs.
Laura Nicholson (Temple to Toledo)
Back in April, the University of Toledo announced that Temple's Laura Nicholson will be joining the Rockets as a graduate transfer later this fall. According to TFRRS, she is expected to have two seasons of cross country eligibility, one season of indoor track eligibility and one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining.
Earlier this year, Nicholson emerged as one of the more quietly-improved distance runners in the NCAA. The Temple miler had a fine indoor track season, but would later post times of 2:06 (800) and 4:15 (1500) on the outdoor oval, eventually winning the AAC title in the latter event and qualifying for the 1500 meter finals at the East Regional Championships.
On the grass, Nicholson finished 26th at the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships.
Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough isn't a rookie when it comes to developing nationally competitive milers at Toledo. Petronela Simiuc, who qualified for the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships over 1500 meters, was a 4:34 miler during her time with the Rockets. And just this past winter, Lou Trois ran a 4:37 mile PR.
On paper, Nicholson is a perfect match for what this team is trying to do across all three seasons of competition.
However, what makes Nicholson such a valuable transfer is the fact that she still has plenty of room to grow and develop, especially with two years of cross country eligibility still remaining.
It feels plenty possible that Nicholson will become Toledo's next MAC champion over the mile and 1500 meter distances in 2024. And on the grass, this former Temple runner could provide respectable scoring support for a team that is returning everyone from their 2022 national qualifying cross country lineup which, admittedly, lacked some much-needed depth.
Kimar Farquharson (South Plains CC to Texas A&M)
Last week, Texas A&M announced that Kimar Farquharson will be joining the Aggies as a JUCO transfer later this year. According to TFRRS, the Jamaican middle distance standout is expected to have two full years of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition once he ventures to College Station, Texas.
Farquharson is one of multiple men who have headlined an exciting rise in the JUCO middle distance events over the past few seasons. The former South Plains CC runner holds a jaw-dropping personal best of 1:46.88 for 800 meters, a time that would have placed him at NCAA #13 on the Division One national leaderboard this past spring going into the regional and national meets.
Despite toeing the line for four NJCAA Championships (on the track) over the past two years, Farquharson has surprisingly only secured one national title over the half-mile distance. In an era where Rivaldo Marshall and Tyrice Taylor have also emerged as upper-tier 800 meter runners, winning an NJCAA title in that event has become just as challenging as winning a Division Three or Division Two 800 meter national title...depending on the season.
Texas A&M, a program known for developing elite, national title-caliber half-milers, will now be tasked with taking Farquharson to the highest levels of Division One. And with a 1:46 (800) PR, this former JUCO talent seemingly has enough raw firepower to (eventually) develop into a legitimate threat for NCAA gold one day.
That may be necessary in the SEC, especially with 1:45 (800) man Oussama El Bouchayby joining Alabama later this year and Will Sumner rising to an all-time level of dominance for the Georgia Bulldogs. Not only that, but the Texas Longhorns will soon be joining the SEC, bringing with them an army of top 800 meter stars.
But by pairing Farquharson with recent national meet qualifier Sam Whitmarsh, who has also run 1:46 for 800 meters, the Texas A&M men could end up having one of the more feared half-mile duos in the NCAA.
Of course, the larger goal will be trying to figure out if Whitmarsh or Farquharson can be the same national title threats that Donovan Brazier, Brandon Miller or Devin Dixon once were for the Aggies. Firepower, not depth, is what has made Texas A&M one of the most successful middle distance programs in collegiate history.
Antonio Abrego (Iowa to Penn State)
Earlier this week, Iowa's Antonio Abrego announced via Instagram that he is transferring to Penn State later this year. According to TFRRS, he is expected to have three seasons of outdoor track eligibility remaining and two seasons of indoor track eligibility remaining (with the potential for a third season).
Throughout 2022, Abrego proved to be one of the more dangerous up-and-comers 800 meter runners that the nation had to offer. As a true collegiate rookie, the former high school standout ran under 1:50 for 800 meters a total of six times, ultimately running as fast as 1:48.47 (800) at the 2022 Meyo Invitational.
The Iowa men have a highly underrated history of developing strong middle distance runners, specifically over the half-mile distance. And Abrego, for a moment, looked like he could have been the Hawkeyes' next Erik Sowinski, Matt Manternach or Carter Lilly.
But a highly unexciting 2023 indoor track season eventually led to Abrego leave the Iowa men in favor of Penn State, a program that is arguably even more historic (and currently more dominant) than their BIG 10 rival.
The Nittany Lion men have been undergoing a half-mile renaissance of sorts over the last year or so, producing some of the best 800 meter runners in the nation as well as some incredible depth.
Handal Roban, as only a freshman, ran as fast as 1:45 for 800 meters just a few weeks back and has two bronze medals on the national stage at this distance. He was one of eight Penn State men who ran under 1:50 for 800 meters between the winter and spring months.
With each of those eight men set to return in 2024, as well as a top high school recruit in Kaleb Nastari joining the program later this year, the Nittany Lions are set to have a grand total of 10 sub-1:50 (800) guys on their roster with the recent introduction of Abrego.
This former Iowa runner is undoubtedly talented. At his absolute best, he has the potential to be an All-American. Even so, his tactics still need to be refined and he needs to build to a higher level of fitness.
As long as he returns to his 2022 form, Abrego will be a consistent 1:48 guy who could occasionally dip into the 1:47 range. But how he responds to training alongside an overwhelmingly talented group of fellow 800 meter runners will ultimately determine whether or not this former prep standout can reach 1:45/1:46 territory.
Peter Herold (UCLA to Georgetown)
Last week, Georgetown announced via that UCLA's Peter Herold will be joining the Hoyas as a graduate transfer later this fall. According to TFRRS, he is expected to have one full year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.
On paper, this transfer is a match made in heaven for both parties. Peter Herold will be heading to a distance program that is far more established than UCLA. The Hoyas are also known for their historical greatness when it comes to developing top steeplechasers, something that could push this former Bruin into the All-American range that he barely missed just a few weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Parker Stokes will get a national-caliber steeplechaser to train and grow alongside with over the next year. The Georgetown men will also get a valuable long distance talent who can bring some key scoring potency to their 2023 cross country lineup.
Herold has been a competitive name on the west coast for the last few seasons, although 2023 was truly his breakout year.
After a solid, but comparatively modest, 2022 cross country where he finished 29th at the Weis-Crockett Invitational and 16th at the PAC-12 XC Championships, Herold would run an excellent 5k time of 13:37 on the indoor oval.
Fast forward to the spring months, and Herold took his steeplechase PR all the way down to 8:35. The future Hoya finished runner-up over the barriers at the PAC-12 Outdoor Championships and made it to the steeplechase finals on the national stage where he finished 10th overall.
It's plenty clear that with some minor improvements, Herold can be a top-eight guy in his primary event in the spring of 2024. And given Georgetown's history of producing upper-tier talents over the barriers, one might actually say that Herold should be outright favored for an All-American honor a year from now.
It's his value on the grass, however, that feels more open-ended.
Based strictly on his 2022 cross country campaign, Herold can be a top-seven runner for the Hoyas, although it's unclear where in that lineup order he would settle. In our eyes, running 8:35 (steeple) and 13:37 (5k) suggest that Herold can be noticeably better than a fourth or fifth scorer on a team like Georgetown.
According to TFRRS, the Hoyas return everyone from their 2022 national meet lineup except Sean Laidlaw and likely Shea Weilbaker who has been rumored to enter the transfer portal (which is not yet confirmed). And given the scoring gaps that we saw after Parker Stokes last fall, Herold seems primed to be a secondary scorer for this team in 2023.
If this former UCLA runner translates his talent from the oval to the grass later this year, then Georgetown could be better than they were last year, especially if their younger guys develop like we think they will.
Andrea Markezich (Washington to Notre Dame)
Last week, Washington's Andrea Markezich announced via Instagram that she will be finishing her eligibility at Notre Dame as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, she is expected to have one full year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.
Andrea will now venture to South Bend, Indiana where she will be reunited with her identical twin sister, Olivia Markezich, the recent steeplechase national champion who ran 9:25 over the barriers and water pits.
However, unlike her sister, Andrea has never contested the steeplechase and is arguably at her best over 10,000 meters -- an event that Olivia has never toed the line for.
This past spring, Andrea Markezich ran a highly promising 10k PR of 32:50 at the Stanford Invitational and later earned silver behind Emily Venters in that same event at the PAC-12 Outdoor Championships. The former Washington runner also posted a 15:54 (5k) PR on the indoor oval back in February.
While not the most consistent on the grass, this Husky-turned-Fighting Irish runner did have moments of brilliance this past fall. Andrea placed 8th at the PAC-12 XC Championships, was 27th at the West Regional XC Championships and ended her 2022 cross country season with a 134th place finish at the national meet.
Andrea will soon join a Notre Dame roster that was in the podium conversation throughout last fall. And while TFRRS does suggest that women such as Katie Thronson, Annasophia Keller and Katie Rose Blachowicz are all out of eligibility, most of the team's core scorers from last year are set to return for the 2023 cross country season.
Admittedly, Andrea Markezich will need to offer greater consistency across the entirety of a season to adequately fill the scoring value left behind by those three women. Even so, her PAC-12 performance from last fall, paired with her highly encouraging 5k and 10k times from earlier this year, suggest that this graduate transfer can be a legitimate, high-impact top-five scorer for Notre Dame in 2023.
If that happens, and if certain youngsters continue to build upon their fitness, then we're looking at the Fighting Irish women being in a very realistic position to earn a top-four podium spot come November.
Rylee Penn (Cincinnati to Florida State)
Earlier this month, Florida State announced via Instagram that Rylee Penn will be finishing her eligibility with the Seminoles as a graduate transfer. She is expected to hold one season of cross country eligibility and one season of outdoor track eligibility.
Strictly in terms of time, there may not have been any middle or long distance talent in the NCAA who made improvements as significant as what we saw from Rylee Penn in 2023.
Coming into the winter months, Penn had never run faster than 2:10 (800), 4:33 (1500) or 5:04 (mile) as a collegiate. She did, however, run 2:07 (800) and 4:58 (1600) in high school. But by the end of the 2023 outdoor track season, this former Bearcat star had posted incredible marks of 2:01.90 (800), 4:10 (1500) and 4:34 (mile).
Penn finished runner-up over 1500 meters at the Raleigh Relays earlier this year and qualified for the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships at that same distance.
The Florida State women, from a distance perspective, have been in major need of adding someone like Penn to their roster. At the 2023 ACC Outdoor Championships, Alyson Churchill was the only Seminole to score any points in the middle or long distance events. In fact, no Florida State runner other than her finished higher than 14th place in any race that was 800 meters or longer.
A heavy portion of FSU's distance roster (on the track) is still young and very much in the developmental stages of their collegiate careers. And with Yasmine Abbes recently leaving the program to be a graduate transfer as the University of San Francisco, the need for a high-end point scorer in multiple events feels like it's been addressed by the recruitment of Penn.
On the grass, Penn doesn't have quite the same resume. She did, however, finish runner-up at the 2022 AAC XC Championships and later placed 30th at the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships. Even if she makes subtle improvements this fall, then this incoming graduate transfer could absolutely emerge as a varsity scorer for Florida State, likely at the backend of their lineup.
