

The Bowerman: 2025 Men’s Preseason Watch List
NEW ORLEANS – New year. Same goal.
Win The Bowerman.
Here are the ten athletes on the Men’s Preseason Watch List for The Bowerman in 2025: Mykolas Alekna of California, Johnny Brackins Jr. of Southern California, Chinecherem Nnamdi of Baylor, Tarsis Orogot of Alabama, Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan of Ole Miss, Habtom Samuel of New Mexico, Ethan Strand of North Carolina, Ja’Kobe Tharp of Auburn, Sam Whitmarsh of Texas A&M and Parker Wolfe of North Carolina. Four of those athletes are former semifinalists for collegiate track & field’s highest honor: Robinson-O’Hagan, Samuel and Wolfe in 2024; Alekna in 2023.
Look at the configuration of this index and you’ll find three distance runners, three throwers, two hurdlers, plus one mid-distance runner and one sprinter. This is the first time in the history of the Men’s Preseason Watch List that three distance runners have been included, as well as the first time since 2017 that three throwers have been on that chart.
The Bowerman Men’s Watch List
2025 Preseason — January 9
Year | Team | Events | Hometown | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mykolas Alekna | RS JR | California | Discus | Vilnius, Lithuania |
Johnny Brackins, Jr. | SR | Southern California | Hurdles/Jumps | Kansas City, Mo. |
Chinecherem Nnamdi | SR | Baylor | Javelin | Awka, Nigeria |
Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan | JR | Ole Miss | Throws | Woonsocket, R.I. |
Tarsis Orogot | SR | Alabama | Sprints | Soroti, Uganda |
Habtom Samuel | SO | New Mexico | Distance | Keren, Eritrea |
Ethan Strand | SR | North Carolina | Mid-Distance/Distance | Vestavia, Ala. |
Ja’Kobe Tharp | SO | Auburn | Hurdles | Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
Sam Whitmarsh | SR | Texas A&M | Sprints/Mid-Distance | Lake Jackson, Texas |
Parker Wolfe | SR | North Carolina | Distance | Denver, Colo. |
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Nathan Green, Washington (Mid-Distance); Kenneth Ikeji, Harvard (Throws); Eli Kosiba, Grand Valley State (Jumps); Rivaldo Marshall, Arkansas (Mid-Distance); Tinoda Matsatsa, Georgetown (Mid-Distance/Distance); Nathan Mountain, Virginia (Mid-Distance); Samuel Ogazi, Alabama (Sprints); Godson Oghenebrume, LSU (Sprints); Colin Sahlman, Northern Arizona (Mid-Distance)
NEXT WATCH LIST: Thursday, February 6
Alekna, who hails from Vilnius, Lithuania, is a record-breaking – and Olympic medal-winning – discus thrower. It was last April at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma, where Alekna shattered the longest-standing men’s world record with a throw of 74.35m (243-11). That came four months before Alekna would win silver at the Paris Olympics. Don’t forget that the Cal standout also holds the collegiate record in the event at 71.00m (232-11), a mark that he threw back at “The Big Meet” between Cal and Stanford in 2023. Aleka is now one of four men in award history to have appeared on a Watch List in four different calendar years, joining Edward Cheserek, Ryan Crouser and Chris Nilsen.
Brackins, who hails from Kansas City, Missouri, opened eyes in 2024 when he won the long jump at the USATF Indoor Championships with a PR 8.23m (27-0). The Southern California standout would set PRs in four different events over the next four months: 7.55 in the 60-meter hurdles, 13.37 in the 110-meter hurdles, 46.40 in the 400 meters and 50.84 in the 400-meter hurdles. Brackins earned three First-Team All-America honors last year, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the NCAA DI Indoor Championships in the 60H to 2024 finalist Caleb Dean.
Nnamdi, who hails from Awka, Nigeria, makes his Watch List debut. The Baylor standout javelin thrower has finished no higher than fourth in the event at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships, but has a massive PR of 82.80m (271-8) from the All-African Games last year that put him No. 11 on the all-time collegiate chart. Nnamdi is the third Baylor male athlete to land on the Watch List, joining Trayvon Bromell (2014, 2015) and KC Lightfoot (2020, 2021).
Robinson-O’Hagan, who hails from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, swept the shot put titles last year at the NCAA DI Championships. The Ole Miss standout’s biggest throw of the year came in victory at the NCAA DI Indoor Championships in Boston, where he launched the implement PR 21.05m (69-0¾). Robinson-O’Hagan started 2025 in style with victories in both the shot put and weight throw at the Birmingham Indoor Icebreaker in early December. He is the fourth Ole Miss male athlete to land on the Watch List, joining Ricky Robertson (2012), Isiah Young (2013) and Sam Kendricks (2014).
Orogot, who hails from Soroti, Uganda, enters his junior year as the third-fastest man in collegiate history in the 200 meters. The Alabama standout clocked his wind-legal PR of 19.75 in a winning effort at the SEC Outdoor Championships last May to put him just 0.06 seconds from Walter Dix’s near 18-year-old collegiate record of 19.69.
Samuel, who hails from Keren, Eritrea, has two all-time top-10 marks to his name from 2024: the first is a 26:53.84 PR in the 10,000 meters that slots him second, right behind Nico Young; the other is his 13:13.34 PR in the outdoor 5000 meters that places him seventh in collegiate history. The New Mexico standout is the reigning NCAA 10,000-meter champ despite a mid-race fall.
Strand, who hails from Vestavia, Alabama, left his mark on the collegiate record book at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in December. It was in Boston where the North Carolina standout destroyed the collegiate record in the 3000 meters with his 7:30.15 effort. That shaved off more than six seconds from the near two-year-old collegiate best of 7:36.42 that Drew Bosley set on the same track in January 2023.
Tharp, who hails from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, went 13.20 or faster in the 110H three times in 2024, highlighted by two 13.18 marks: the first of which came in victory at the SEC Outdoor Championships and took down Renaldo Nehemiah’s 46-year-old American Junior record. The Auburn standout would later finish runner-up at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships.
Whitmarsh, who hails from Lake Jackson, Texas, is the seventh fastest man in collegiate history in the outdoor two-lapper. The Texas A&M standout turned 800 meters in 1:44.46 at the LSU Battle on the Bayou last March. Whitmarsh swept the SEC slate clean last year and took runner-up honors at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Wolfe, who hails from Denver, Colorado, dazzled at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in December with his 7:30.23 clocking in the 3000 meters. That gave the North Carolina standout the second fastest time in collegiate history behind teammate Strand. Wolfe is now the only man in collegiate history with two all-time top-10 marks in that event: he also went 7:37.41 last February. Don’t forget Wolfe is also the reigning NCAA outdoor 5000-meter champ and earned a pair of NCAA runner-up finishes indoors in both the 3000 and 5000 meters.
Nine athletes received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee, but not enough to land on the Watch List: Nathan Green of Washington, Kenneth Ikeji of Harvard, Eli Kosiba of Grand Valley State, Rivaldo Marshall of Iowa State, Tinoda Matsatsa of Georgetown, Nathan Mountain of Virginia, Samuel Ogazi of Alabama, Godson Oghenebrume of LSU and Colin Sahlman of Northern Arizona.
The Bowerman will be awarded in December at the annual USTFCCCA Convention in Grapevine, Texas.