Content crafted via Garrett Zatlin & Kevin Fischer In the weeks following the NCAA Outdoor Championships, a new crop of collegiate standouts have announced professional contracts with major shoe brands! Here is a quick run-down of who has turned pro, where they will be training, and a handful of their greatest accolades... NOTE:  Below-listed NCAA all-time accolades for the women's 1500 meters do not include Addy Wiley's performances given that she was competing in the NAIA during her time in college. Lexy Halladay Lowry (BYU) Sponsor: Nike Pro Group: Swoosh Track Club (Provo, UT) Accolades: NCAA #2 All-Time Steeplechase (9:08.68) NCAA #3 All-Time, All-Conditions Indoor 3k (Oversized Track) (8:40.60) NCAA #4 All-Time Indoor 5k (14:57.63) NCAA #3 All-Time Outdoor 5k (14:52.93) Eight-Time First-Team All American (all three seasons) 2024 USA Olympic Trials Steeplechase Finalist 2025 USA Steeplechase Champion Meghan Hunter (BYU) Sponsor: Nike Pro Group: Swoosh Track Club (Provo, UT) Accolades: NCAA #4 All-Time Outdoor 800m (1:58.95) NCAA #6 All-Time Indoor 800m (2:00.21) Three-Time First-Team All-American 2025 BIG 12 Outdoor 800m Champion Brianna Robles (Adams State) Sponsor: Brooks Pro Group: Hansons Brooks Distance Project (Rochester Hills, Michigan) Accolades: Three-Time NCAA D2 Champion NCAA D2 #2 All-Time Outdoor 5k (15:30.84) NCAA D2 #7 All-Time Outdoor 10k (32:50.06) NCAA D2 #4 All-Time Indoor 3k (9:06.72) NCAA D2 #3 All-Time Indoor 5k (15:47.88) 20-Time NCAA D2 First-Team All-American (all three seasons) Wil Smith (Gonzaga) Sponsor: Brooks Pro Group: Hansons Brooks Distance Project (Rochester Hills, Michigan) Accolades: 2024 NCAA Outdoor 5k National Qualifier Three-Time Top-Three WCC XC Championship Finisher 9th place in 10k at 2025 USA Outdoor Championships Drew Bosley (Northern Arizona) Sponsor: Nike Pro Group: Swoosh Track Club (Flagstaff, AZ) Accolades: NCAA #6 All-Time Indoor 3k (7:36.42) NCAA #14 All-Time Indoor 5k (13:13.26) Seven-Time First-Team All-American (all three seasons) 7th place in 10k at 2025 USA Outdoor Championships Sam Whitmarsh (Texas A&M) Sponsor: Brooks Pro Group: Brooks Beasts Track Club (Seattle, WA) Accolades: 2025 NCAA Outdoor 800m Champion NCAA #8 All-Time Outdoor 800m (1:44.46) Three-Time NCAA First-Team All-American (including relays) Four-Time SEC Champion Chloe Scrimgeour (Georgetown) Sponsor: Brooks Pro Group: Brooks Beasts Track Club (Seattle, WA) Accolades: NCAA #7 All-Time Outdoor 5k (15:05.40) Seven-Time NCAA First-Team All-American (all three seasons) Five-Time BIG East Champion (all three seasons) Ceili McCabe (West Virginia) Sponsor: On Pro Group:  N/A Accolades: 2025 NCAA Indoor 3k Champion NCAA #10 All-Time Indoor 3k (8:45.97) Tied with Alicia Monson 10-Time NCAA First-Team All-American (all three seasons) Abel Teffra (Georgetown) Sponsor: Hoka Pro Group:  Coach Brandon Bonsey (Washington, DC) Accolades: 2025 NCAA Indoor Mile Champion NCAA #2 All-Time Indoor 1k (2:17.39) NCAA #6 All-Time Outdoor 1500m (3:33.84) NCAA #8 All-Time Indoor Mile (3:52.44) Two-Time NCAA First Team All-American (all three seasons) Liam Murphy (Villanova) Sponsor: Nike Pro Group:  Swoosh Track Club (Flagstaff, AZ) Accolades: NCAA Outdoor 1500m Record Holder (3:33.02) NCAA #4 All-Time Indoor 3k (7:35.47)   NCAA #8 All-Time Indoor 5k (13:10.42) Four-Time NCAA First Team All-American (all three seasons) 12-Time BIG East Champion (all three seasons, includes relays) Ethan Strand (North Carolina) Sponsor: Nike Pro Group:  Swoosh Track Club (Flagstaff, AZ) Accolades: 2025 NCAA 3k Champion NCAA Indoor Mile Record Holder (3:48.32) NCAA Indoor 3k Record Holder (7:30.15) NCAA #2 All-Time Outdoor 1500m (3:33.22) Six-Time NCAA First-Team All-American (all three seasons, includes relays) Parker Wolfe (North Carolina) Sponsor: Nike Pro Group:  Swoosh Track Club (Flagstaff, AZ) Accolades: 2024 NCAA Outdoor 5k Champion NCAA #8 All-Time Outdoor 5k (3:34.24) NCAA #2 All-Time Indoor 3k (7:30.23) NCAA #11 All-Time Outdoor 5k (13:13.49) 11-Time NCAA First-Team All-American (all three seasons, includes relays) Ishmael Kipkurui (via New Mexico) Sponsor: Nike Pro Group:  N/A (Kenya) Accolades: 2025 NCAA 10k Champion NCAA 10k Record Holder (26:50.21) NCAA #4 All-Time Outdoor 5k (13:09.24) Three-Time NCAA First-Team All-American Maggi Congdon (via Northern Arizona) Sponsor: Nike Pro Group:  Swoosh Track Club (Flagstaff, Arizona) Accolades: 2024 USA Olympic Trials 1500m Finalist NCAA #6 All-Time, All-Dates Outdoor 1500m (4:02.79) 2025 NCAA Indoor Championship Mile Bronze Medalist 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championship 1500m Bronze Medalist Three-Time NCAA First-Team All-American Klaudia Kazimierska (via Oregon) Sponsor: Nike Pro Group:  Swoosh Track Club (Eugene, Oregon) Accolades: 2024 Olympian (via Poland) NCAA #2 All-Time, All-Dates Outdoor 1500m (3:59.95) 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championship 1500m Bronze Medalist Five-Time NCAA First-Team All-American Nathan Green (via Washington) Sponsor: Adidas Pro Group:  Coach Andy Powell (Seattle, Washington) Accolades: Two-Time NCAA 1500m Champion NCAA #7 All-Time, All-Dates Outdoor 1500m (3:32.20) NCAA #6 All-Time, All-Conditions Indoor Mile (3:50.74) Six-Time NCAA First-Team All-American Michaela Rose (via LSU) Sponsor: Adidas Pro Group:  N/A Accolades: 2023 NCAA Outdoor 800m Champion NCAA #2 All-Time Indoor 800m (1:59.25) NCAA #2 All-Time Outdoor 800m (1:58.12) Nine-Time NCAA First-Team All-American (includes relays)

On Tuesday, Drake University announced the hiring of Sam Read as the program's next cross country and distance coach. Read's hire fills a gap left by the departure Jay Koloseus, the former Drake distance coach who joined the University of Arizona earlier this summer. Read, a 2014 alumnus of Wartburg, spent the previous seven years as the head distance coach at Eastern Washington. While the Eagles were not a nationally competitive program under Read, he did lead them to fairly respectable success, relatively speaking. In the first season of his tenure, the Eastern Washington men and women recorded last place finishes at the 2018 BIG Sky XC Championships. However, since then, the Eagles have improved enough to consistently emerge as a mid-pack team at the conference level. Drake, however, is in a different situation which carries higher expectations, especially on the men's side. In recent years, the Bulldog men have been one of the better mid-major programs in the NCAA, developing All-American talents like Isaac Basten and Adam Fogg while winning Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) team cross country titles in 2021 and 2023. The women of Drake do not boast as much recent success, but their 4th place finish at the MVC XC Championships was a promising development. They also advanced two distance runners to the West Regional Championships this past spring. A program of Drake's stature will be a new challenge for Read. But given his success at Eastern Washington (albeit, on a smaller scale), Des Moines appears to be a natural next step for his career progression. As for the Bulldogs, the hope will be that Read can help the men return to the top of the MVC podium and take the women to new heights as well.

Production via Wyatt Barnsley On this week’s podcast, Ben and Garrett break down the first wave of our NCAA XC Preseason Top-25 Team Rankings and debate which programs got snubbed. The guys start with the “just missed” and “honorable mention” squads before revealing the first three ranked men’s and women’s teams in the countdown. From surprise inclusions to glaring omissions, the guys dissect Virginia Tech, Virginia, Oklahoma, Florida State, Tulane and Boise State in our latest episode. Expect plenty of bold takes, a few disagreements and some early-season storylines to watch. Be sure to listen, subscribe and review! (3:00) Just Missed Teams (Men) (8:08) Just Missed Teams (Women) (13:04) Honorable Mention (Men) (17:05) Honorable Mention (Women) (21:08) #25 Virginia Tech (Men) (26:30) #25 Virginia (Women) (31:14) #24 Oklahoma (Men) (36:01) #24 Florida State (Women) (40:13) #23 Tulane (Men) (44:23) #23 Boise State (Women) You can listen to that episode (and others) on our PODCASTS  page! You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud. If you like it, be sure to leave us a rating  and a review ! Note: If you're having issues loading the episode on the site via mobile, try refreshing  the episode page. We will look into this issue for future episodes.