Transfer Market (Part 58): Kenzie Doyle, Ava Nuttall, Vasileia Spyrou & Evan Guzman Enter Transfer Portal, Emma Heckel Transfers to Louisville & Will Kelly Transfers to Montana State

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It's that time of the year when the NCAA kicks-off their preparations for the postseason. However, before we get into all of that action, we wanted to get you caught up some key names who have hit the transfer portal and those who have already committed to new homes.

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NOTE: Graduate transfer scenarios can often be anticipated by certain schools/coaches. Those moves are not always a reflection of a program's ability to retain (or not retain) talent.

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Emma Heckel (New Mexico to Louisville)

Last week, Louisville announced that Emma Heckel would be joining the team as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, the future Cardinal runner is expected to hold at least one year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition.

Heckel, at her best, is a star-caliber talent. With personal bests of 15:41 (5k) and 32:31 (10k), the soon-to-be-former Lobo is a legitimate three-season threat who has made multiple appearances on the national stage and has twice been an All-American on the grass.

Unfortunately, injuries have plagued Heckel over the last year or so, leaving her sidelined for extended periods of time.

Thankfully, Heckel will be getting a fresh start while retaining some familiarity during her future move to Louisville. That's because Heckel's former coach, Joe Franklin, left the Lobos last summer to become the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the Kentucky-based university.

Reuniting with her former coach can only help Heckel who has yet to race once throughout this entire academic calendar. And while there's no guarantee that all will be remedied simply by joining her former coach, the German distance ace will at least be able to "start at square one" in an effort to make the most of her final year of eligibility.

When it comes to Louisville as a whole, Heckel certainly makes this team better...but there is still a lot of work to be done.

While the Cardinals have quietly added a few fairly decent pieces to their distance roster over the last year, the team's rise to be a competitive program in the ACC will require much more. Namely, they'll need Emma Heckel at full health and a stronger supporting cast that can offer impact scoring.

Luckily for Louisville, five of their top-seven women from last fall's Southeast regional squad (which placed 9th overall) are expected to return (losing their first and seventh runners). And if Heckel is available, then this team, on paper, should only get better.

Kenzie Doyle (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has recently learned that UMass Lowell standout, Kenzie Doyle, has entered the transfer portal as a future graduate student. According to TFRRS, the River Hawk star is expected to have one season of cross country eligibility remaining and at least one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining. Doyle is not expected to have any remaining indoor track eligibility.

Doyle has been a solid and competitive name for the last few years. Prior to 2024, Doyle had qualified for the outdoor national meet over 10,000 meters and finished a quietly great 85th place at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships.

However, no one could have predicted what Doyle would throw down at the Boston U. Season Opener this past December. In her first race of the academic calendar, the UMass Lowell veteran posted a monster 5k PR of 15:27.

The River Hawk standout would go on to run personal bests of 4:41 (mile) and 9:11 (3k) before ending her season with a 14th place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. So far this spring, she has only raced once, producing a 10k personal best of 33:21.

In terms of value, Doyle is a big-time entrant in the transfer portal. Given her top-100 finish at the cross country national meet and clear evidence that she has only improved since then, it's reasonable to think that Doyle could be an All-American low-stick on the grass come November.

Admittedly, Doyle's consistency will need to improve as we have yet to see her emulate the caliber of her 15:27 (5k) PR. Even so, her ceiling is seemingly higher than other veterans on the portal and she is simply more proven as well. Her resume during the fall months didn't necessarily hold any true "off" days, either.

Photo via Josh Kutcher

When thinking about potential landing spots for Doyle, one school jumps off the page: Providence.

The Lady Friars have quietly emerged as one of the top cross country teams in the nation, placing 16th at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships before returning to the same meet in 2023 where they admittedly struggled. However, with six of their top-seven women from last year's lineup set to return, adding a potential low-stick to this squad would make Providence a much stronger team than some may realize.

If she joins the Providence women, then Doyle, a Massachusetts native, would be able to stay local to the northeast region and be part of a nationally competitive distance program should she venture to Rhode Island. Pairing Doyle with Kimberley May and a key veteran in Shannon Flockhart would give the Friars far greater stability and more of an up-top scoring edge that would allow them to be more competitive with Georgetown in top-heavy fields like the BIG East XC Championships.

Syracuse would be another strong fit for Doyle, especially as the Orange attempt to remain competitive within the fast-rising ACC. The ladies from upstate New York are more long distance oriented, making them a perfect landing spot for someone like Doyle who is more aerobic-centric.

I would be surprised if Georgetown didn't make a run at trying to sign Doyle. After all, ensuring that she doesn't sign with conference rival Providence would be almost as important as the Hoyas actually landing the UMass Lowell star.

Not only that, but with key support scorers such as Kelsey Swenson and Maggie Donahue expected to be out of cross country eligibility, there will very clearly be a need for more veteran scoring later this fall. Plus, Coach Mitchell Baker has proven in the past that he is not afraid to utilize the transfer portal to fill out his projected lineups.

Abby Loveys (NC State to Boston College)

On Friday, Boston College announced that Abby Loveys was joining the Golden Eagles as a graduate transfer. The soon-to-be-former NC State runner is expected to have one full year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.

Loveys is a solid runner with respectable marks of 4:28 (1500), 9:22 (3k) and 16:05 (5k). However, her value is arguably at it's highest on the grass. In the fall of 2022, Loveys placed 18th at Paul Short, 34th at Nuttycombe, 8th at the Ivy League XC Championships and then 3rd at the Mid-Atlantic XC Regional Championships.

Unfortunately, since leaving Princeton for NC State last summer, Loveys hasn't competed, making it challenging to properly gauge what she'll be able to bring to the Golden Eagles during the 2024-2025 academic calendar.

Of course, if Loveys is able to produce results at a similar level to what we saw from her in 2022, then the Boston College women are in store for a big-time cross country season. This team is expected to return five of their top-seven women who advanced to the NCAA XC Championships this past fall. And more importantly, the BC women will soon introduce a standout distance star in Alexandra Millard as well.

With a handful of returning women now holding greater experience, Millard offering more up-top firepower and Loveys potentially acting as a stabilizing scorer (if she's near peak form), then there is a real argument for the Golden Eagles to be listed as a top-20 team in our cross country summer rankings...and maybe even top-15.

Ava Nuttall (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Miami (OH) runner, Ava Nuttall, has entered the transfer portal as a standard transfer. According to TFRRS, the RedHawk talent is expected have one full year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.

Nuttall now joins fellow teammate Carmen Riano as top women from Miami (OH) who have entered the transfer portal this year.

On the grass, Nuttall has been plenty solid, finishing 16th at the Louisville Classic and 14th at Pre-Nationals this past fall. She has also been a two-time top-30 finisher at the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships.

However, despite what this academic year has shown, Nuttall is at her best on the track. The Miami (OH) veteran was a national qualifier over 10,000 meters last spring and finished 11th overall in that event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. With multiple 10k clockings under 34 minutes and a 33:10 PR in the event, Nuttall is clearly an strength-based talent who can provide very strong three-season value.

When it comes to predicting which schools would be in contention to land Nuttall, there doesn't seem to be any obvious options like there was for Emma Heckel or could be for Kenzie Doyle.

However, it should be noted that Nuttall is a Minnesota native. And if she wants to return to her home state, then she could opt to join the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Admittedly, the BIG 10 distance program has struggled lately ever since the departure of the Hasz twins who brought this team to a 5th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships in the winter of 2021. However, that multi-season stretch of success shows us that Coach Sarah Hopkins is more than capable of developing and producing nationally competitive long distance runners from the midwest.

On paper, that makes Nuttall an ideal candidate to join the team later this fall.

Other schools such as Michigan and Michigan State would be strong options for Nuttall, especially the latter. The Spartans are a proven long distance power that boasts great depth and they have been contending for BIG 10 titles as of late. And with Wisconsin only getting stronger via a few additions of their own, the ladies in green and white will likely need to add more upfront scoring given that they are expected to lose a few key contributors from last fall.

But if the Badgers do have extra room on their roster (and more room within their scholarship allocation), then they could absolutely make a run at landing Nuttall.

Like many of the schools that we have mentioned, Wisconsin matches the aerobic-centric skillset that Nuttall boasts. And if you were to pair her with graduate transfer Lindsay Cunningham as well as a handful of high-impact returners, then you get a team that may be favored to win the BIG 10 title come October.

Max Murphy (Iowa to North Carolina)

On Saturday, Iowa's Max Murphy announced that he would be joining the North Carolina men as a graduate transfer starting next year. The incoming Tar Heel runner is expected to have two seasons of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition (each).

Murphy was quietly one of the more valuable prospects listed in the transfer portal over the last few months. The current Hawkeye talent has showcased impressive dynamism with strong times of 3:40 (1500), 7:59 (3k), 13:39 (5k) and 28:57 (10k). However, on the grass, Murphy is just as good -- and maybe even better.

This past fall, the future UNC talent was 20th at Joe Piane, 9th at the Midwest regional meet and 69th place at the NCAA XC Championships!

Landing Murphy is a massive win for the North Carolina men, specifically for cross country. The Tar Heels have been slowly building towards podium contention for the last few years. And although they got close in 2023, they have yet to reach the top-four spots on the national stage under the direction of Coach Chris Miltenberg.

That goal will only become even more challenging to achieve as two crucial scorers, Alex Phillip and Jake Gebhardt, are seemingly out of eligibility, per TFRRS. That leaves the Tar Heels with one less top-half All-American and one crucial stabilizing scorer.

And for a team that severely lacked depth after their top-four men throughout last fall, that is simply not good news.

Thankfully, Murphy should be able to provide some stability to this lineup. He won't be able to plug every scoring hole on UNC's varsity group, but he does give Coach Chris Miltenberg one less slot to worry about. Plus, if Murphy continues to develop and refine his talent, then there's a possibility that he'll emerge as an All-American in November.

Now, the only question for UNC is, who among their slowly developing youngsters is going to step up big next year and help the Tar Heels make a push towards the podium?

Evan Guzman (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that East Tennessee State's Evan Guzman has entered the transfer portal as a standard transfer. While there is conflicting information regarding his eligibility, The Stride Report (after reviewing his TFRRS profile) is expecting the ETSU talent to have one season of cross country eligibility remaining, two seasons of indoor track eligibility remaining and one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining.

It should be noted that, this past summer, East Tennessee State announced that they would be "discontinuing" their men's indoor track program.

For the most part, Guzman is a respectable all-around talent who does a little bit of everything on the track. With personal best times of 1:52 (800), 3:48 (1500), 4:04 (mile), 8:06 (3k), 14:19 (5k) and 29:06 (10k) -- many of which were run unattached -- Guzman can be viewed as a nice utility piece for a handful of conference meet lineups and entries.

However, it's the grass where Guzman has largely been at his best. During the fall months, the current ETSU runner has earned two top-25 finishes at the South regional meet and two top-10 finishes at the Southern Conference XC Championships (which is dominated by Furman).

Not only that, but Guzman placed 11th at the Louisville XC Classic last fall, taking down a large handful of D2 All-Americans as well as strong scorers such as Micah Gilpatric from Charleston Southern.

Sure, Guzman's resume on the oval doesn't stand out in any dramatic way, but his value on the grass is sneaky-good. This is someone who could be the fourth or fifth scorer on a national qualifying team, offering great stability to programs with tons of youth or limited depth.

The most obvious landing spot for Guzman is Tennessee...and it's pretty easy to see why. Coach Sean Carlson has been one of the most active coaches in the transfer portal. He consistently pursues older transfers who can be contributors on the grass while also acting as developmental names on the track.

And on paper, everything that I just mentioned matches what Guzman would/could bring to Knoxville should he be recruited by the Volunteers.

Schools such as NC State and Ole Miss would also be strong choices for Guzman. Both of those southern-based programs haven't been adverse to adding transfers in recent years and both teams have proven to be competitive during cross country, but not overwhelmingly so. Plus, with multiple key names set to depart from both the Wolfpack and the Rebels, Guzman could be an instant plug-and-play kind of talent who limits at least some of their lost scoring.

Gustav Bendsen (Cumberlands to Louisville)

On Friday, Louisville announced that NAIA standout, Gustav Bendsen, would be joining the Cardinals as a transfer, presumably starting next fall. Per TFRRS, the Danish distance runner is expected to have three years of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.

Bendsen is a sneaky-good talent who has produced some great marks despite his youth. The rookie from Cumberlands has posted times of 3:45 (1500), 4:07 (mile), 8:12 (3k) and 14:12 (5k) over the last four-ish months of racing. He was a two-time All-American at the NAIA Indoor Championships this past winter and he proved to be a respectable name on the grass (although the oval is his clear forte).

From a long-term perspective, this is a great pick-up by Coach Joe Franklin. Bendsen is someone who is making rapid improvements and clearly projects to be a competitive name within the ACC in a year or two. He has very solid range, has tons of eligibility remaining and currently sits at TSR #4 in our 2024 NAIA outdoor track rankings.

There will certainly be a need for greater reinforcements and more support beyond Bendsen. However, after landing a handful of solid transfers, it seems safe to say that Coach Joe Franklin will continue to attack the transfer portal in an effort to further build out his team.

Vasileia Spyrou (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Florida veteran, Vasileia Spyrou, has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. The soon-to-be former Gator is expected to have one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition as well as a second season of indoor track eligibility remaining.

Truthfully, the last year of racing hasn't been kind to Vasileia Spyrou who hasn't competed since the 2023 SEC XC Championships. However, when firing all cylinders, this long-time Florida runner has quietly been very solid.

With personal best times of 2:06 (800), 4:18 (1500) and 9:17 (3k), Spyrou's resume won't jump off the page, but it will provide legitimate value to most NCAA distance programs. That's especially true when you remember that, during the 2022 cross country season, she finished 6th at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, 20th at the SEC XC Championships and then 26th at the South Regional XC Championships.

In fact, if you go all the way back to the fall of 2020, Spyrou placed 8th at both the Blazer Classic and the Florida State Invitational before placing 17th at the SEC XC Championships.

Given that she's a native from Greece, it's hard to know if there any direct ties to certain parts of the United States that could appeal to Spyrou during her graduate transfer search. Of course, there are plenty of programs that will welcome an experienced runner who has had great conference meet success and who can also flex respectable range as well.

A team like Florida State would certainly be a good fit for Spyrou. The Seminoles aren't direct conference rivals with Florida, have added plenty of transfers in the past and are in need of greater reinforcements after an uneventful 2023 fall campaign. By joining FSU, Spyrou would be able to stay within the state of Florida and provide strong three-season utility that the 'Noles have historically valued.

Could Louisville be an option for Spyrou? The Cardinals have shown over the last year that they're willing to add a handful of transfers to their roster. And if they can get their newest transfer committee, Emma Heckel, at full strength, then one or two more pieces could put this Joe Franklin-led group in a strong position heading into this fall.

If staying within the SEC isn't an issue, then programs such as Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Missouri could all be contenders to sign the Greek Gator. Each of those programs have shown that they'll go into the transfer portal in efforts to fill out their roster. Keep an eye on Texas as well, a school that likes three-season value and has a new distance coach who just signed Sophia Jacobs-Townsley, a graduate transfer from Syracuse.

Will Kelly (St. Olaf to Montana State)

Earlier this week, Montana State announced that they have signed Division Three standout, Will Kelly, as a presumed graduate transfer. Based on his TFRRS resume, Kelly is expected to join the Division One ranks with one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition.

While not necessarily a Division Three superstar, Will Kelly has proven over the years that he is one of the nation's best all-around distance runners at that level. With personal bests of 8:13 (3k) and 14:15 (5k), as well as five national meet appearances and two All-American honors on the grass, this Saint Olaf ace has gained tons of valuable experience while simultaneously showcasing tremendous reliability.

However, maybe more importantly, Kelly boasts an eyebrow-raising 8:52 PR in the steeplechase. At the moment, that mark sits at NCAA #6 on the current D3 national leaderboard this season. That time also sits just outside of the top-25 all-time marks in the men's D3 steeplechase.

Under the direction of Coach Lyle Weese, the Montana State men have developed one of the most formidable contingents of steeplechase stars in the NCAA, rivaling the likes of BYU and Portland in recent years. And given how strong Kelly has been at St. Olaf in that exact event, it’s reasonable to think that his ceiling with reach even higher, potentially to a national qualifying level.

However, the value that Kelly can provide in the steeplechase can also be replicated in the value that he will provide on the grass. Remember, this is a guy who has placed 26th and 13th at the NCAA D3 XC Championships. When he is at his best, he can be a legitimate impact scorer for a Montana State cross country team that has oftentimes needed depth after their fourth or fifth runner.

That's going to be especially important in the fall of 2024 as Montana State is expected to lose their top scorer from the national meet, All-American Matthew Richtman. Thankfully, TFRRS is suggesting that everyone else in this lineup is set to return. And while Kelly isn't expected to make up for all of the lost scoring that Richtman will leave behind, he'll at least plug a key gap and limit the bleeding of points.

Other Known / Notable Transfers

• Emily Little (Furman to SMU)

• Housem Hrabi (Iowa Central CC to Adams State)

• Sophia McNerney (Tulane to Tulsa)

• Sophia Jacobs-Townsley (Syracuse to Texas)

• Bailey Wilk (St. Francis (IL) to Northern Illinois)