2017 NCAA DI Men’s Outdoor Team Rankings – Week 9

NOTE: Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for rankings. Please check your membership status HERE.

NEW ORLEANS – By now the dust has settled from the NCAA East Preliminary Round and the NCAA West Preliminary Round, giving us a clear idea of who will compete come June 7-10 at Historic Hayward Field during the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

And when it comes to the race for the men’s team title, a program from the SEC has the best chance of taking home the trophy from a statistical standpoint. That’s because the SEC held down each of the top-5 spots in the most recent National Team Computer Rankings released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Which program from the SEC is most likely to be crowned team champion on June 9?

That would be none other than Texas A&M. The Aggies enter NCAAs ranked No. 1 – as it has been in each set of rankings since Week 4. This is also the 2nd year in a row that Texas A&M has been ranked No. 1 in the Pre-Championship Edition of the index and the 7th time in the history of the National Team Computer Rankings, which made their debut in 2008.

The Aggies, who won the indoor title this year, punched 18 tickets for NCAAs with half of them coming in the field. Of those 18 entries, Texas A&M will be led by two collegiate record holders in Fred Kerley (400) and Lindon Victor (decathlon). Kerley smashed the 25-year-old record in the 400 this past weekend at the NCAA West Preliminary Round when he crossed the finish line in 43.70 and became the 1st collegian to go sub-44 seconds during a collegiate season.

Just like during the indoor season, Florida is expected to give the Aggies a run for their money.

The Gators have five fewer entries than Texas A&M, but eight of those 13 are ranked in the top-5 nationally. KeAndre Bates is the lone athlete from Florida ranked No. 1 – and No. 2 for that matter – yet Grant Holloway could provide huge points in the hurdles and long jump, while you can never count Eric Futch and TJ Holmes out of the 400 hurdles.

Alabama comes in 3rd this week, which is the best billing in program history for Dan Waters’ squad. The Crimson Tide have two athletes who could make some noise in the 10,000 meters (top-ranked Alfred Chelanga and 5th ranked Antibahs Kosgei) as well as 200-meter specialist Jereem Richards, who tied for the 9th best time in collegiate history this past weekend in a runner-up effort to Tennessee’s Christian Coleman.

Georgia is ranked No. 4 this week and owns the fewest entries out of any team in the top-5 (11). The Bulldogs should be in good hands, though, as Keenon Laine (1st, high jump), Devon Williams (2nd, decathlon) and Denzel Comententia (4th, shot put; 5th, hammer throw) could all score major points in their events.

Arkansas jumped two spots from Week 8 to No. 5 in Week 9. The Razorbacks own the 2nd most entries of any men’s team (16) and tied for the most tickets punched in the sprints/hurdles with 7 (Texas also grabbed 7 NCAA spots in those same events). Don’t sleep on Arkansas, though. The Razorbacks always take advantage of that “Hayward Magic.” You only have to look back to last year when Jarrion Lawson pulled off the Jesse Owens Triple. Plus, Kenzo Cotton (4th, 100; 8th, 200) and Clive Pullen (5th, triple jump) could find their stride at the right time.

Kansas soared to 6th in the rankings, its best billing in program history. The Jayhawks have 9 entries to NCAAs with four of them coming in the throws and three in the jumps. The notable entry for Kansas is standout freshman Gleb Dudarev, who leads in the nation in the hammer throw by more than six feet.

There are seven more programs with 10 or more entries that we haven’t mentioned yet. Those teams are No. 9 Oregon (14), No. 32 BYU (13), No. 11 Penn State (12), No. 10 Texas (12), No. 15 Nebraska (11), No. 7 Auburn (10) and No. 14 Southern California (10).

All of these teams and more will have athletes at the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships set for June 7-10 in Eugene, Oregon. The entire meet will be broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks, including the men’s and women’s finals on June 9 and June 10 in prime time. Be sure to tune in and support the great athletes and collegiate track & field.