Transfer Market (Part 55): Devin Hart Announces Move to Oregon, Rhys Hammond & Acer Iverson Sign With Washington

Two national-caliber distance running powerhouses just landed a few high-impact names. And of course, it was only natural that we offered a mid-season (or in this case, late-season) transfer update.

Here is what you need to know about the new names and faces who are set to take over the BIG 10 (and for one name, maybe very briefly the PAC-12) in 2024...

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Devin Hart (Texas to Oregon)

On Friday, former Stanford runner and soon-to-be former Texas standout, Devin Hart, announced via Instagram that he will be transferring to Oregon. He is expected to hold one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition.

TSR's initial reporting of Devin Hart entering the transfer portal detailed his impressive accomplishments over the last calendar year. Below is an excerpt from that article...

"Hart has been outstanding over the last year. After a clear breakthrough in the fall of 2022, highlighted by a 13th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite, the former Cardinal talent would run 13:29 for 5000 meters and qualify for the 2023 indoor national meet.

Shortly thereafter, Hart posted a fantastic 10k PR of 28:07, although that would be the last time that we saw him that season (and in a Stanford singlet, for that matter). And after making the move to Texas, Hart found even greater success on the grass this past fall.

A huge 17th place finish at the 2023 Nuttycombe Invite was later complemented by a 4th place effort at the top-heavy BIG 12 XC Championships, a conference which recently introduced BYU. Hart would later be rewarded for his substantial leap in fitness with a career-defining 11th place effort at the NCAA XC Championships."

Hart will now be joining a very young Oregon team that, on paper, has one of the brighter futures of any distance program in the NCAA. In fact, when you review our latest freshman class rankings, the Ducks hold our TSR #2 spot behind only Oklahoma State.

However, the Oregon men admittedly struggled throughout the fall of 2023. The Ducks hardly raced during the regular season and when they did, we rarely got to see many of their top names. And when they reached the postseason, the men from Eugene were simply unable to keep pace with a very deep West region.

And yet, despite all of those challenges, Hart seems like an ideal fit for the Ducks. After this spring, the former Cardinal and Longhorn runner will join a cross country squad that will (hopefully) have Izaiah Steury back in top form while their group of superstar recruits will have a valuable year of stacking fitness under their belts.

Of course, when it comes to the upcoming outdoor track season, there are expectations (albeit, unconfirmed) that Hart can and will be racing this spring. If so, then he will bring a 28:07 (10k) PR to an elite distance coach in Jerry Schumacher who has developed some of the best 5k and 10k runners in North American history.

Rhys Hammond (Cornell to Washington)

Acer Iverson (Harvard to Washington)

On Tuesday, the University of Washington announced via Instagram that Rhys Hammond (currently of Cornell) and Acer Iverson (currently of Harvard) will both be joining the Huskies later this fall.

Based on TFRRS data, Hammond is expected to enter Seattle with one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition (assuming he races this spring). Meanwhile, Iverson is expected to hold one year of indoor track eligibility and at least one year of outdoor track eligibility (depending on if he competes this spring) upon joining the Washington men.

We'll begin our conversation with Hammond, an oftentimes underrated miler who clearly has tons of untapped potential still remaining.

Hammond was one of the biggest surprises of the 2022 NCAA East Regional Championships, advancing to the outdoor national meet over 1500 meters that year. There, he ran a 1500-meter PR of 3:41. Fast forward to the winter of 2023 and Hammond would produce a 3:58 mile personal best to further complement his spring success.

On paper, the Cornell veteran has built his reputation as a miler, making him the perfect fit for a Washington program known specifically for their elite all-time dominance in that event (and it's metric equivalent). However, Hammond has yet to return to his 2022-2023 level(s) of fitness in recent seasons, at least not on the track. That, of course, should be something that Coach Andy Powell can quickly remedy (as he has with others).

And yet, despite his propensity for the mile and the 1500 meters, one could argue that Hammond is actually at his best on the grass.

This past fall, the soon-to-be-former Big Red runner was quietly great, placing 34th at Pre-Nationals, 6th at the Ivy League XC Championships and 20th at the Northeast Regional XC Championships. But in the fall of 2022, Hammond was even better, producing finishes of 5th at the Ivy League XC Championships, 10th at the Northeast regional meet and 109th at the NCAA XC Championships.

Despite Washington's sterling accolades on the oval, it's the grass where they have needed greater scoring value. This past fall, the Huskies shockingly didn't make it out of the West region, ending their 2023 cross country season (as a team) early.

And of course, things won't get any easier in 2024. Low-stick ace Luke Houser has already hinted that 2023 was his last cross country season and it would truthfully be a stunner if veteran Joe Waskom didn't turn pro later this year.

But that's exactly why signing Hammond is so key for Washington. The Huskies will happily add someone who can contribute to their loaded arsenal of milers while still providing some much needed scoring assistance on the grass.

We then come to Acer Iverson, a Harvard distance standout who, prior to the spring of 2023, was (usually) the stronger runner between him and superstar teammate, Graham Blanks.

At the moment, Iverson will venture to Seattle, Washington with fantastic personal bests of 3:58 (mile), 7:47 (3k), 13:26 (5k) and 28:23 (10k).

Oh, and don't forget, if Iverson races this spring (he's currently not racing this winter), then he could still improve his times even further before he reaches Washington.

While he isn't expected to hold any cross country eligibility (which is where he's needed the most), the Minnesota native will still bring highly valuable veteran stability to a roster that is somewhat young and an aerobic-centric skillset to a program that generally leans closer to the mile and the 3k rather than the 5k and the 10k.

Iverson's experience on the national stage is lengthy. Across all three seasons of competition, he has made six national meet appearances and has raced seven times. However, the only (first-team) All-American honor that the Crimson veteran has been able to secure was a 40th place finish at the 2021 NCAA Fall XC Championships.

To put it simply, Iverson is due for an All-American honor (top-eight) on the track. He has, after all, come within five places of doing so three different times. And given the recent long distance success that the Washington men have had with names like Brian Fay, Kieran Lumb, Isaac Green (specifically in 2021) and Andrew Jordan, there is certainly a path where Iverson ends his collegiate career with an All-American honor in a Husky singlet.