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TSR's 2026 NCAA Preseason D1 XC Top 50 Rankings: #40-31 (Men)
Written by Angelina Napoleon, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
40. Taha Er Raouy, Senior, Eastern Kentucky
Going into his senior year, Taha Er Raouy has made it difficult to be "down" on his talent. After a breakout junior year, one that felt complete and fully elevated, this Eastern Kentucky product is seemingly primed to be an All-American favorite this fall rather than an outside contender.
Last fall, Er Raouy competed at the Gans Creek Classic and the NCAA XC Championships, placing 31st and 30th, respective. That first result was solid, but his end-of-season performance beat our expectations for him in a significant way. It certainly didn't help that he recorded a head-scratching DNF at the Nuttycombe Invite.
However, what truly validated that All-American performance was what Er Raouy accomplished on the indoor and outdoor ovals.
The Colonel star qualified for both the NCAA Indoor Championships and the NCAA Outdoor Championships earlier this year. Most notably, he ran 7:40 for 3000 meters during the winter and later clocked a time of 13:30 for 5000 meters in the spring. In fact, Er Raouy initially earned All-American honors at the indoor national meet in the former event, but was disqualified for stepping over the rail.
Regardless, the biggest advantages that Er Raouy has entering this season are his experience and his momentum. As a senior, he's been through every stage of an NCAA season and knows what it takes to prepare for championship racing. And, of course, his best performances have all come over the last year.
If he can pair All-American cross country result with the jump that he made on the track, then we don't see any reason why he can't improve on last year's national meet finish.
39. Brian Kimutai, Sophomore, Eastern Kentucky
Well admit, this was a tough name to analyze and rank.
As we ran through Brian Kimutai's resume, the one thing that kept standing out was his inconsistency. Sure, he placed 33rd at the Gans Creek Classic last fall, but that was followed with a 200th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he completely flipped the script by finishing 21st at the NCAA XC Championships!
And when it came to his performances on the track, Kimutai simply didn't race to the level that he showed throughout the 2025 cross country season. That only made him even more difficult to evaluate going into this fall.
Sure, everyone has "off" days, and the Nuttycombe Invite could very well have been one of those fluke races. But when you're trying to project where someone belongs heading into the next season, it's hard to ignore such a wide range of performances. And yet, at the same time, you also can't dismiss the brilliant effort it takes to earn a 21st place finish at the NCAA XC Championships.
Results like that don't happen by accident, and they show that Kimutai has the talent to compete with the best runners in the country.
Right now, Kimutai has shown us that he knows how to peak at the right time, and I honestly believe that his best is better than what this ranking suggests. The challenge, of course, is proving that his peak can become the expectation rather than the exception.
38. Fredrick Kipkosgei, Sophomore, Hofstra
This ranking feels fairly self explanatory, but as an athlete, Fredrick Kipkosgei also comes with plenty of unknowns.
With the exception of the national meet, this rising Hofstra sophomore won every cross country race that he entered last fall...even if those meets weren't the most competitive. However, when it came time to race the best in the nation, he backed up those victories with a 38th place All-American finish at the NCAA XC Championships.
And that's what makes this ranking feel fair. It's easy to question results that come against lighter fields, but Kipkosgei simply validated his fitness when it mattered the most.
The biggest reason why we can't move him any higher is simply because we haven't seen enough from him since then. Missing the indoor track and outdoor track seasons in 2026 leaves a lot of unanswered questions, making Kipkosgei one of the bigger wildcards in these rankings.
There's no doubt that talent is there for this Hofstra underclassman. However, without any recent races and only one nationally competitive race under his legs, it's difficult to know exactly where his fitness stands heading into this season.
That being said, his resume suggests that he's capable of rising to the occasion when championship season arrives. He'll be one of the athletes who I am most interested in watching this fall. If he returns to the same level that we saw last November, then this ranking may not be generous enough.
37. Stephen Maroro, Freshman, Kansas
Making our list without touching the grass yet is freshman Stephen Maroro who jumped straight into the NCAA this past winter and spring.
Upon doing so, the newest Kansas ace ran times of 13:36 for 5000 meters and 28:08 for 10,000 meters. He also placed 11th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the latter event. Put simply, there is little double that he has the talent to make an immediate impact during the upcoming cross country season.
Maroro has immense fitness on his side, which is exactly why leaving him out of these rankings wouldn't make much sense. His NCAA career is only just beginning, yet he's already established himself as one of the country's top young distance runners. Those track performances aren't just promising -- they're the kind of results which suggest that he can compete for All-American honors on the grass as well.
The biggest question surrounding Maroro isn't whether or not he has the engine or talent, but rather, how he'll handle championship-style cross country racing. Track and cross country reward two very different skillsets, and learning how to position yourself over 10,000 meters against an experienced NCAA field isn't something that every freshman figures out right away.
We got a glimpse of his racing instincts at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, but this fall will be a completely different test.
That being said, we don't think it'll take long for Maroro to adjust. The fitness is already there, and if he develops the race awareness that separates good cross country runners from great ones, then he has the potential to outperform this ranking in his very first NCAA cross country season.
36. Myles Hogan, Rs. Senior, Oregon*
From one coast to another, Myles Hogan will be a new addition to Oregon's powerhouse distance program for starting this fall. There is, however, a catch: We don't actually know he'll compete for the Ducks in cross country.
Hogan has applied for a waiver so that he is able to receive another year of eligibility. And while he is optimistic that he'll get the extra season of racing, there is currently no update on the status of his waiver.
Of course, for the sake of this article, let's assume that he is racing this fall, shall we?
On paper, there is A LOT to like about Myes Hogan. The former Princeton runner is an experienced veteran at this point in his career. He has also made tremendous progress in his fitness over the last year.
This past winter and spring, Hogan clocked times of 13:20 and 13:21 for 5000 meters. In those events, he took 10th place at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 12th place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Those efforts should give him plenty of momentum heading into the upcoming cross country season.
That's a big deal considering how good he already was on the grass. Last fall, Hogan secured an excellent 18th place finish at the Gans Creek Classic, showing signs of being an All-American-caliber talent. The same could be said of his runner-up effort at the Princeton Fall Classic as well as an individual win at the Ivy League XC Championships!
That, however, is why his 45th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships, while still strong, didn't fully reflect the aerobic talent or firepower that he showcased in 2025.
There isn't much to critique when it comes to Hogan. He's built a reputation for being consistent, and his track progression is exactly what you'd hope to see heading into the fall. The biggest storyline surrounding him (other than the status of his waiver) isn't his fitness, but rather his transition to Oregon.
Coming from a program where he wasn't surrounded by as much day-to-day depth, he'll now be training alongside one of the deepest distance squads in the country. That adjustment can be more challenging than people realize, but it can also bring out another level within the New York native.
35. Meshack Kuyo, Senior, Duke
Last cross country season, Meshack Kuyo was competing in a different uniform, going from Boise State in the fall to Duke in the spring.
During his final cross country season with the Broncos, Kuyo consistently placed well at meets that were strong, but not necessarily loaded. His efforts at the Princeton Fall Classic (7th) and the Joe Piane Invitational (4th) were respectable, but they didn't necessarily blow us away. Of course, top-five results at the Mountain West XC Championships and the West Regional XC Championships were promising.
That being said, Kuyo didn't fall short when the level of competition rose. His brilliant 27th place All-American finish at the NCAA XC Championships cemented his name alongside some of the top athletes in the country and proved that he belonged on the biggest stage.
Although we are curious about where Kuyo's fitness currently stands after transferring to Duke, we haven't seen enough from him on the track to answer that question. In fact, the newest Blue Devil competed just twice on the oval this past spring.
We will admit that we still want to see Kuyo race more often during the regular season against deeper (and stronger) fields. Doing so would give us at The Stride Report a better feel for his race tactics and consistency against numerous upper-tier stars. Thankfully, Duke's 2026 cross country schedule will seemingly do just that.
If Kuyo can start mixing it up with the country's best before November, then we'll have a much clearer picture of where he belongs in the NCAA's hierarchy of distance stars.
34. Kidus Misgina, Senior, Ole Miss
Over the past year, Kidus Misgina has established himself as a consistent challenger on both the track and the grass.
Last fall, the Ole Miss veteran capped off his season with a relatively modest 46th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. And while that result may not immediately jump off the page, it was the culmination of a season in which Misgina steadily improved against some of the nation's best competition.
If you look back at his 2025 fall campaign, you'll find a resume built on consistency. Misgina opened the season with a quietly excellent 11th place finish at the Gans Creek Classic before taking a very impressive 4th place finish at Pre-Nationals in a top-heavy field. He followed those efforts with a 6th place finish at the firepower-laden SEC XC Championships and a 5th place result at the South Regional XC Championships.
Put simply, everything that we saw from Misgina leading up to the national meet suggested that would be (and could be) a top-30 All-American...even if that didn't end up being the case.
Since then, Misgina has continued to better his times on the track. Most notably, he ran 13:31 for 5000 meters and 28:17 for 10,000 meters. Unfortunately, he was unable to get back to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
As we searched for a spot to place him within our top-50 rankings, his consistency over time proved hard to ignore. Misgina has become a reliable scorer in championship races, and his continued progression on the track suggests that there's another level for him to reach.
If that upwards trajectory continues into this fall, then Misgina should once again find himself comfortably within the All-American conversation.
33. Riley Hough, Senior, Michigan State
The fall of 2025 was a massive breakout season for Riley Hough, someone who dramatically upped his game on the grass. In fact, this Spartan veteran was the reason why the Michigan State men proved to be so darn good throughout last year.
Last fall, Haugh placed 8th at both Gans Creek Classic and the Nuttycombe Invite, the two biggest (and most competitive) cross country meets of the year...outside of the national meet. In just the regular season, Hough had showcased a ridiculously high level of fitness that was validated before championship season even began.
Followed by an excellent runner-up finish at the BIG 10 XC Championships, Hough unfortunately struggled at the NCAA XC Championships where he settled for 134th place overall.
The reason? An injury that he sustained at the tail-end of last fall.
We like to keep our rankings fair, meaning that no athlete will be judged too harshly based off of just one race. After all, nearly every race that we saw from Hough during the 2025 cross country season was flat-out incredible. That being said, Hough was fairly limited on the oval in 2026. He skipped the indoor track season entirely and competed in four meets during the spring, with his best result being a 13:49 (5k) mark.
Hough has a great upside and he proved how insanely dangerous he could be when he's firing on all cylinders. In fact, the very best version of this Spartan star is likely a top-20 runner in the NCAA this fall. That said, Hough must stay healthy and return to his 2025 form if he is going to avenge how last fall ended.
32. Aiden Smith, Senior, Oregon
Aiden Smith is one runner who never fails when it comes to peaking at the NCAA XC Championships. In fact, relative to expectations, he's one of the best in the nation at doing so. Although we haven’t seen much of him on the track, his 25th place finish from last year's NCAA XC Championships continues to sit in our minds.
The Oregon veteran provides a sense of comfort when it comes to championship season, as he consistently shows up and shows out. No, it's not just because he thrived at last year's national meet, but because he also did the same thing in 2024! That year, he took 29th place All-American honors.
Smith is an interesting runner to rank -- he doesn't have many results outside of the fall months. But at some point, consistency has to outweigh the unknown. Back-to-back top-30 finishes at the NCAA XC Championships don't happen by accident, and Smith has proven that he knows exactly how to prepare for the biggest race of the year.
We can admit that Smith is not a runner who is going to demand attention throughout the regular season. That could be seen last fall when he took 4th at the Bill Dellinger Invite and 6th at the BIG 10 XC Championships. Those are good results, but they also didn't indicate that Smith would be a two-time top-30 All-American. That's largely why we have him at TSR #32.
Smith's key to success is getting to the line healthy. If he gets there, he'll find himself in the same position, if not better, as the prior two years. He comes into this season as a seasoned veteran who understands championship racing and knows how to work the field in his favor.
If he can put together a full season of racing before November, then don't be surprised if he nabs yet another All-American spot, this time in the top-20.
31. Meshack Kimutai, Sophomore, Iowa State
This now-sophomore proved himself more than once over the last year by hanging with an experienced group of athletes throughout the 2025 cross country season. Of course, with youth came moments of wanting just a little bit more as well.
As a freshman, Kimutai placed 19th at the Gans Creek Classic in a loaded field. That was a good result, and maybe even a great result, but it didn't necessarily suggest that he would be a top-25 name on the national stage. The same thing could be said about his 13th place finish at the BIG 12 XC Championships.
And yet, all of that led to a simply incredible 22nd place finish at the NCAA XC Championships!
Kimutai was the third-best freshman to cross the finish line at last year's national meet and he has only improved since then. Track times of 13:26 (5k) and 28:02 (10k) validate the ridiculously high level of fitness that this Iowa State product has shown over the last year.
Though I admit, finishing 22nd at the NCAA XC Championships as a true freshman is a rare accomplishment, the depth of talent returning this season (and being added) makes it hard to move him up much further without seeing another jump that can be sustained. His performance at the Gans Creek Classic and the BIG 12 XC Championships, while good, didn't necessarily suggest that he was a top-40 name in the country.
And yet, at the same time, it's clear that Kimutai has tremendous upside and raw talent. As he enters his sophomore season, the expectation for Kimutai shifts from surprising people to proving that last season was only the beginning.
