Transfer Market (Part 62): Rivaldo Marshall, Abdullahi Hassan & Evan Dorenkamp All Enter Transfer Portal

Conor Daly
Jun 27, 2024
7 min read

Updated: Jun 30, 2024

Written by Conor Daly, additional edits and commentary via Garrett Zatlin

At the culmination of any academic year, it’s natural to see the transfer portal light up all at once. Even so, seeing this trio of national-caliber half-milers all enter the portal this summer leaves us with must-see headlines and plenty to analyze. So without further ado, let’s not waste any more time and get straight into it...

Rivaldo Marshall (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Iowa standout Rivaldo Marshall has entered the transfer portal as a regular transfer. According to TFRRS, the current Hawkeye star is expected to have at least one year of both indoor track eligibility and outdoor track eligibility remaining.

The Jamaica native began his collegiate career at Indian Hills Community College. There, Marshall had a very successful two years, leaving IHCC as a two-time JUCO national champion over 800 meters while boasting a then-personal best of 1:47.35 in the event.

This past year, Marshall joined the Division One ranks at Iowa where he has only continued to develop his talent. In just his first season with the Hawkeyes, the Iowa standout saw plenty of success. Entering the indoor national meet seeded 7th overall, Marshall exceeded expectations to win the half-mile national title with a brilliant display of positioning and well-timed surges.

In his first outdoor track race of the 2024 spring season, Marshall went on to break the 1:46 (800) barrier for the first time in his career, dropping a huge 1:45.86 personal best. He would go on to run 1:46 over 800 meters two separate times after that.

Unfortunately, after running that PR, the remainder of Marshall’s outdoor track campaign was underwhelming relative to the expectations that we had placed upon him following the winter months. After a decent, but not overly exciting, 4th place finish over 800 meters at the BIG 10 Outdoor Championships, the reigning indoor national champion struggled in the prelims of the outdoor national meet, falling to 7th place in his heat to make a disappointing early exit.

While it may seem criminal for Marshall to flip his allegiance to in-state rival Iowa State, it’s certainly a sensible landing spot. The former JUCO star has gone to school in Iowa for the last three years and considering that he is from outside of the United States, there is seemingly no other geographical preference for Marshall, at least not that we know of.

After all, Iowa State has done their fair share in developing nationally competitive half-milers. This past year, the Cyclones fielded the duo of Darius Kipyego and Finley McLear, both of whom hold personal bests of under 1:46 for the 800 meters. It doesn’t hurt, either, that both of those men will be returning to Iowa State next year (per TFRRS), theoretically giving Marshall a pair of ideal training partners.

Outside of Iowa State, there are many SEC programs that focus on the middle distances that could be a good fit for the reigning indoor national champion.

Texas A&M in particular sticks out as a possible landing spot for Marshall. The Aggies have been an all-time powerhouse over 800 meters, acting as the home to some of the greatest half-milers that the NCAA has ever seen, both men and women. In fact, it wasn’t all that long ago that names like Donavan Brazier, Brandon Miller and Devin Dixon headlined the College Station-based program.

Marshall is more than qualified to be an Aggie if that is the route that he chooses. Coach Paul Ereng, who is the current collegiate record holder for the indoor 800 meters, currently oversees the middle distance group at Texas A&M. That squad features 1:44 (800) man Sam Whitmarsh as well as All-American Kimar Farquharson and outdoor national meet qualifier, Caden Norris.

Other key contenders to consider include Florida, Alabama and Georgia, schools that all have history of producing upper-echelon half-milers within the SEC.

Abdullahi Hassan (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Wisconsin standout Abdullahi Hassan has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, the soon-to-be-former Wisconsin ace is expected to hold one season of indoor track eligibility and one season of outdoor track eligibility.

Entering the collegiate scene in 2021, it seemingly took no adjustment for Hassan to race with the best of the best, qualifying for the indoor national meet in just his first season. There, he ended up placing 11th overall. The then-youngster continued to see the same success the following outdoor track season, placing 12th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

That summer, he ran a jaw dropping 800-meter personal best of 1:46.16 at the age of 18.

Now three years older, the 21-year-old has remained as a national-caliber threat in the collegiate scene. He has run countless fantastic races through his years, too many to list. In fact, the 800-meter BIG 10 champion during the 2022 outdoor track season has contested the half-mile event at five national meets.

Last year’s 4th place finish at the outdoor national meet stands as his best finish to date. Most recently, Hassan holds an 8th place finish over 800 meters at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships.

With it being an Olympic year, the 800-meter specialist opted to save a season of eligibility and did not compete for Wisconsin this spring. That decision seems to be part of Hassan’s long-term plan as he aims to have a fruitful racing season deep into the summer and eventually become a member of Canada’s Olympic team.

Those Olympic dreams are not far-fetched, either. It was just a year ago that Hassan placed 2nd at the 2023 Canadian National Championships and finished place 5th in his preliminary heat at the World Championships in Budapest.

In short, few men in the NCAA have proven that they can consistently perform as well as Hassan has in the last few years. It’s that veteran status that makes him so valuable when it comes to tactical 800-meter races that are so common during many of the NCAA’s most important races.

He’s at the point where making an NCAA final is expected.

While it’s hard to say where Hassan will land, Penn State could be a great spot for Hassan as he could train with a handful of standout half-milers on a regular basis. Admittedly, moving to a conference rival would be a big aspect to look over, but Happy Valley's middle distance crew is among the most talented and deepest in the country.

No, the Nittany Lions have not been particularly active in the transfer portal as of late, but with a trio of men running in the 1:46 range over 800 meters this past season, the BIG 10 counterpart certainly seems like a strong option.

But if loyalty to Wisconsin is too much of a barrier for Hassan to look past, then a move into the SEC or ACC would likely make the most sense. Schools such as Texas A&M and Texas have often been viewed as middle distance powers responsible for producing numerous elite-level half-milers. That reputation has been plenty evident as of late with the rise of guys like Yusuf Bizimana (Texas) and Sam Whitmarsh (Texas A&M).

Would east coast middle distance schools like Georgetown, Virginia Tech or Virginia make a run at signing the Canadian Badger? That certainly seems possible, especially for the Hoyas, a group that would likely love to pair an experienced veteran with rising sophomore stars Tinoda Matsatsa and Gabriele Angiono. And with Tim McInerney now out of eligibility, a scholarship spot in the middle distances would likely be Hassan's for the taking.

Evan Dorenkamp (Transfer Portal)

The Stride Report has confirmed that Penn State standout Evan Dorenkamp has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. According to TFRRS, the Nittany Lion veteran is expected to hold one season of cross country eligibility and one season of indoor track eligibility. Dorenkamp is not expected to hold any remaining outdoor track eligibility.

The soon-to-be-former Nittany Lion has proven to be one of the more underrated middle distance talents in the country with many sneaky-good marks to be found on his resume.

In 2021, Dorenkamp was an outdoor national meet qualifier over 800 meters (somewhat surprisingly, we should add). Since then, the veteran has focused his efforts on the mile or metric equivalent, punching his ticket to the national meet on the track on two additional occasions. At the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Dorenkamp claimed his only All-American honor with an 8th place finish in the 1500-meter finals.

With personal bests of 1:48 (800), 2:21 (1k), 3:39 (1500) and 3:55 (mile), as well as tons of national meet experience and outstanding finishing speed, the best version of Dorenkamp has proven to be a very dangerous name on the oval.

While Dorenkamp is undeniably at his best on the track, it should also be noted that he holds great value on the cross country course as well. This past fall, Dorenkamp won Lehigh’s Paul Short Run, placed 17th at the BIG 10 XC Championships and was the 16th place finisher at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships. That latter performance was only 10 seconds away from qualifying for the NCAA XC Championships as an individual.

There is no denying that Dorenkamp boasts strong cross country credentials, enough to potentially be a scorer for a national qualifying squad. However, whatever program lands Dorenkamp will almost certainly be more interested in using his talents on the oval.

That’s why Virginia Tech is a seemingly great fit for this Penn State talent as the Hokies tend to be more competitive on the track than the cross country course. It also doesn't hurt that Coach Ben Thomas has proven to be one of the best coaches in the entire NCAA when it comes to developing 800-meter and 1500-meter talents.

With names such as Vincent Ciattei, Cooper Teare, Cole Hocker, Reed Brown, Charlie Hunter, Neil Gourley, Pat Joseph, Drew Piazza and Nick Plant all thriving as national-caliber middle distance stars under Thomas, it would only make sense if Dorenkamp joined that lineage.

Don’t count out Virginia or Georgetown as landing spots for Dorenkamp, either. Both of those schools were able to break the elusive sub-16:00 barrier for the 4xMile relay at the Penn Relays earlier this year and have thrived across the entire middle distance spectrum. Simply put, the former is the class of the ACC when it comes to the middle distances while the latter is a factory when it comes to producing sub-1:47 (800) and sub-4:00 (mile) talents.