Transfer Market (Part 59): David Mullarkey, Izaiah Steury, Molly Hudson & Emily Covert Enter Transfer Portal

Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Jun 14, 2024
9 min read

The main headline news from earlier this week didn't have much to do with the recently completed NCAA Championships. Instead, it was about Alabama superstar Hilda Olemomoi shockingly entering the transfer portal.

Of course, Olemomoi is hardly the only national-caliber name to enter the transfer portal. In fact, a handful of top collegiate distance stars have also decided to dip their toes into the portal as they look for new homes, either for graduate school or to find a new undergraduate program.

Below, we found four key names who are on the move...

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.

David Mullarkey (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Florida State standout David Mullarkey has entered the transfer portal as a regular transfer. According to TFRRS, the soon-to-be-former Seminole is expected to have one full year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition. However, it is unclear to The Stride Report if any additional eligibility could be gained via a waiver process.

The news of Mullarkey entering the transfer portal comes shortly after it was announced that Florida State coach Bob Braman was retiring at the conclusion of the most recent academic calendar.

Mullarkey has been a strong low-stick for the Florida State men for the last few years. However, the 2023-2024 academic calendar year was when Mullarkey truly broke out in a major way.

During the fall months, Mullarkey was brilliant. He placed 5th at the Joe Piane Invite, produced an even more impressive 14th place effort at the Nuttycombe Invite, secured bronze at the ACC XC Championships and was 40th at the NCAA XC Championships, earning the final All-American honor available.

Naturally, expectations were high for the British distance ace during the winter months, but seeing Mullarkey record head-turning times of 7:42 (3k) and 13:28 (5k) boosted the FSU star into a different (and better) nationally competitive tier. The 'Nole ace would go on to run 13:28 for 5000 meters once more on the outdoor oval. He competed at both the indoor (3k) and outdoor (5k) national meets, placing 11th and 18th, respectively.

Mullarkey is a game-changing name who has recently begun to realize his full potential. He is more than talented enough to eventually be an All-American on the track and his 2023 cross country resume (minus his national meet performance) suggests that he is (or at least can be) one of the 20-best men in the NCAA later this year.

Trying to pinpoint the next landing spot for Mullarkey is a touch challenging given his background as a UK native and with his ties to the United States (if any) remaining unbeknownst to The Stride Report. However, it does seem safe to say that an established long distance power would ideally want to land a podium-worthy low-stick such as himself.

On paper, teams such as Northern Arizona and Oklahoma State are fairly easy picks to imagine. The Lumerjacks are an aerobic-centric program that will mesh well with the 5k/3k and cross country skillsets that Mullarkey has displayed in recent years.

Not only that, but with Nico Young, Brodey Hasty and Aaron Las Heras are not expected to return next year. With Drew Bosley no longer holding any cross country eligibility, it would only make sense if Coach Mike Smith and the NAU coaching staff threw tons of resources at signing Mullarkey.

As for Oklahoma State, their long distance focus also makes sense for Mullarkey. They lose a top name in Alex Maier (theoretically freeing up scholarship money), are likely in a "win now" mode given the plethora of elite young talent on their roster and they have a history of adding international names (especially from the UK) to their program.

Other teams such as Oregon, Washington, Arkansas, Notre Dame and Iowa State have fairly lengthy histories of adding top transfers and would be unsurprising choices for Mullarkey. That's especially true for Wisconsin and North Carolina. Both of those programs lose key names from podium-caliber cross country squads and could greatly benefit from adding a true low-stick to their current rosters.

The Badgers often pursue Aussie distance talents, but those from the United Kingdom have also been good fits for Coach Mick Byrne. As for UNC, the Tar Heels do lose Jake Gebhardt and Alex Phillip, but after securing a top transfer name in Max Murphy, successfully recruiting someone like Mullarkey would effectively put the men of Chapel Hill back into podium contention.

Molly Hudson (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Boston College standout Molly Hudson has entered the transfer portal as a graduate student. According to TFRRS, she is expected to have one full year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition, although it's unclear if she'll be able to appeal for more.

Hudson, who just completed her first year in the NCAA at Boston College after coming over from Great Britain, established herself as a national-caliber miler over the past year. With eye-catching personal bests of 2:04 (800), 4:13 (1500) and 4:30 (mile), Hudson's utility on the indoor oval has made her a very valuable name to scout.

The eventual graduate transfer qualified for the indoor national meet in the mile this past winter after running times of 4:32 and 4:30. However, Hudson ultimately scratched from the mile at the indoor national meet to be fresh for the DMR. In that race, Boston College placed 9th overall.

Admittedly, Hudson's spring campaign paled in comparison to her winter efforts, barley making it out of the 1500-meter prelims at the East Regional Championships before ending her season in the finals. Her performances at both ACC Championships also left room for improvement.

While consistency will need to be a greater point of emphasis for the soon-to-be-former Boston College miler, Hudson's proven mile prowess will still draw great demand in the transfer market.

On paper, two obvious choices standout as potential landing spots for Hudson: Oregon and Washington. Not only do those two schools often utilize the transfer portal, but they also build their reputation around having top-flight milers.

Of course, Oregon and Washington have become almost too obvious as potential choices for any decent miler entering the transfer portal. Should Hudson want to stay on the east coast, then strong middle distance programs like Penn State, Virginia, Louisville, Georgetown, Virginia Tech or Duke (albeit, the latter undergoing a recent coaching change) would make plenty of sense for Hudson.

Among that group, the Hoyas seem like they would be an ideal landing spot. Georgetown is a prestigious academic program that has a history of developing top-tier milers (the most recent being Melissa Riggins). The DC-based distance group has also been more than willing to add graduate transfers to their roster in recent years.

Louisville is another program that can't be counted out. Coach Joe Franklin showed us during his time at New Mexico that he was willing to recruit from the transfer portal and he was happy to take on international distance talents as well.

That criteria, of course, perfectly matches Molly Hudson.

Emily Covert (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Emily Covert has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. Covert, who previously ran for Colorado and joined Tennessee as a graduate transfer in the winter, has now entered the portal for the second time in six months.

According to TFRRS, Covert is expected to have one season of cross country eligibility remaining and one season of indoor track eligibility remaining. She is not expected to have any outdoor track eligibility remaining.

With personal bests of 9:04 (3k), 15:35 (5k) and 32:30 (10k), as well as two All-American honors during her time with the Buffaloes, Covert will continue to garner attention after hitting the open transfer market once again.

Covert has admittedly had a few challenges in the latter-half of her collegiate career when it comes to injuries and illnesses. Even so, the recent Vol was only two spots out from qualifying for the outdoor national meet this past spring and she placed 50th at the NCAA XC Championships back in November.

When Covert is at the very peak of her fitness, she is a true low-stick who offers potent scoring value. That fact alone will make her a highly impactful piece who, at the very least, can offer some scoring stability for certain programs that need greater reliability at different points of their lineup.

In terms of potential landing spots, the Northern Arizona women seem like a match made in heaven for Covert. The Lumberjacks will be realistic threats for the national title yet again in 2024 despite a few key losses. The ladies of NAU are a true aerobic-centric powerhouse with tons of depth and they often thrive on the grass. And with altitude playing a major role in their training environment, it's hard to find another setting that more closely emulates Boulder, Colorado.

Of course, the NC State women will almost certainly be in the transfer recruiting market as well. While the NAU women continue to pose as formidable threats to win NCAA gold, the Wolfpack could very easily keep themselves in that conversation this fall, especially if they land one or two more key transfers.

Should Amina Maatoug not end up in Raleigh, then don't be surprised if the ladies in red go after (and ultimately sign) Covert.

Covert could also, in theory, return to her home state of Minnesota and train with the Golden Gophers. But with the ladies of Minnesota still in a post-Hasz twins rebuild, the likelihood of that happening seems slim at best.

Could Florida be in the mix? Coach Will Palmer has proven that he can be (and will be) ultra aggressive when it comes to landing top transfer veterans. With Parker Valby and Flomena Asekol set to depart after this year, and it remaining unclear if Amelia Mazza-Downie and Elise Thorner will return this fall, the Gators' distance coach could immediately reload (instead of rebuild) should he land his former Alabama athlete, Hilda Olemomoi, as well as Covert.

Izaiah Steury (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Izaiah Steury has entered the transfer portal as a standard transfer. The current Oregon runner is expected to have three full years of eligibility remaining across all three seasons competition.

Steury, who was once a high school superstar, initially spent his freshman year at Notre Dame before transferring to Oregon last summer.

During his rookie year, Steury was outstanding for the Fighting Irish, slowly emerging as a true low-stick during the 2022 cross country season. That fall, Steury placed 28th at the Nuttycombe Invite, 9th at the ACC XC Championships and 63rd at the NCAA XC Championships. However, he would not race for Notre Dame during the indoor or outdoor track seasons.

Steury would then transfer to Oregon last summer where he redshirted the fall before competing on the oval. He ran times of 8:01 (3k), 15:53 (5k) and 28:52 (10k).

It seems fair to suggest that we have not yet seen anything close to Steury's full potential as a long distance talent. His freshman year suggests that he can be a multi-time All-American on the grass and his clear aerobic-centric lean also indicates that he can be a national-caliber threat over the 10k distance after greater refinement.

Despite exhausting two different stops, there are still a small handful of realistic programs who could ultimately sign the former prep ace. Remember, when Steury was being recruited out of high school, he narrowed his options down to Notre Dame, North Carolina, Liberty, Grand Valley State and Oklahoma State.

If Steury wanted to follow the same juggernaut distance program reputation that Notre Dame and Oregon both hold, then North Carolina and Oklahoma State seem like strong options. In theory, those programs would likely welcome Steury with open arms as long as they can keep enough scholarship money to further bolster their title and podium-caliber squads beyond him.

Grand Valley State would be an interesting option, but also plenty reasonable. The Lakers reside in the midwest region where Steury went to high school and are considered a major powerhouse within the Division Two cross country realm. With multiple individual distance stars coming out of Allendale, Michigan in recent years, Steury would be a great fit for a program that needs another low-stick on the grass if they want to return to the podium.

But among the above-listed options, Liberty feels like maybe the most realistic contender to sign Steury. While the Flames' athletic reputation pales in comparison to Notre Dame and Oregon, they do have a more-than-respectable history of developing great distance runners. In fact, their women's team qualified for the NCAA XC Championships not too long ago. It also helps Liberty, a christian-based university, that Steury has a strong faith background.

Of course, it's plenty possible that all of those schools are no longer in consideration for Steury. Instead, could he return to his home state and join the Indiana men? That may make sense, especially now that Coach Eric Heins, the man responsible for jumpstarting NAU's dynasty before Mike Smith took over, now oversees the Hoosiers' distance program.