The Bowerman: 2025 Men’s Pre-NCAA Indoor Championships Watch List

NEW ORLEANS – All-time marks are great, but can you win when it counts?

That’s what The Bowerman Watch List Committee wants to see from nine out of the ten athletes on The Bowerman Pre-NCAA Indoor Championships Watch List. Mykolas Alekna of California is the only athlete on the Watch List who won’t compete next week in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Otherwise, here are those other nine men headed to the Old Dominion: Johnny Brackins Jr., of Southern California, Nathaniel Ezekiel of Baylor, Gary Martin of Virginia, Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan of Ole Miss, Habtom Samuel of New Mexico, JC Stevenson of Southern California, Ethan Strand of North Carolina, Ja’Kobe Tharp of Auburn, and Parker Wolfe of North Carolina. All told, six of those athletes posted collegiate-leading marks and all found their way on the all-time chart.

Brackins, who hails from Kansas City, Missouri, leads the nation in the 60-meter hurdles and is currently sixth in the long jump. The Southern California standout stormed to a pair of sub-7.45 marks in the 60H at the USATF Indoor Championships, where he finished third. Brackins went PR 7.44 in the prelims and then lowered his PR to 7.43 in the final. He is now the fourth fastest performer in collegiate history behind two winners of The Bowerman (Grant Holloway and Trey Cunningham) and Daniel Roberts. Brackins did his best Holloway impression this past weekend at the Big Ten Indoor Championships when he won titles in both the hurdles and long jump.

Ezekiel, who hails from Delta State, Nigeria, and makes his Watch List debut, surged to the collegiate lead in the 400 meters with his 44.74 effort at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. That mark made him the sixth fastest man in collegiate history. Ezekiel also helped Baylor win the climactic 4×400 relay. Ezekiel is still seeking his first NCAA title, as his best finish in any event was third in the 400-meter hurdles in both 2023 and 2024.

Martin, who hails from Warminster, Virginia, and makes his Watch List debut, dropped a trio of blistering, all-time marks this season. The first came at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in December where he threw down the fifth-fastest time in collegiate history in the 3000 meters of 7:36.09. The second was his 3:48.82 mile at the Millrose Games that put him right behind fellow Watch List member Ethan Strand in the record book. The third came this past weekend at the ACC Indoor Championships, where Martin ripped 3000 meters in 7:36.69 to win the conference title and notch the eighth-fastest mark in collegiate history.

Robinson-O’Hagan, who hails from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, continues to impress with his versatility. The Ole Miss standout owns the collegiate lead in the shot put at 21.11m (69-3¼) and ranks fourth in the weight throw at 24.35m (79-10¾). That latter mark came at the SEC Indoor Championships, where he swept the throws for the second year in a row. Also, if you combined those marks, Robinson-O’Hagan sits right behind former North Dakota State standout Payton Otterdahl in collegiate history in shot put-weight throw distance: 45.46m vs 45.92m.

Samuel, who hails from Keren, Eritrea, recently completed the distance double at the Mountain West Indoor Championships with victories in both the 3000 and 5000 meters. The New Mexico standout has PR’d in three different events this season: 13:04.92 in the 5000 meters that makes him the fourth fastest performer in collegiate history; as well as a 3:57.09 mile and 7:39.39 3000 that both came on the oversized oval at the Husky Classic in mid-February.

Stevenson, who hails from Temecula, California, leads the nation in both the 60 meters and the long jump. The Southern California standout went PR 6.50 in the former at the TTU Red Raider Invitational and then soared 8.17m (26-9¾) in the latter at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic. His 60-meter PR puts him 11th in collegiate history, 0.01 seconds from cracking the top-10.

Strand, who hails from Vestavia, Alabama, continues to hold collegiate records in both the mile and 3000 meters with his 3:48.32 and 7:30.15 efforts, respectively. The North Carolina standout added a PR in the 5000 meters of 13:26.60 in a meet-record breaking performance this past weekend at the ACC Indoor Championships.

Tharp, who hails from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, improved his PR in the 60-meter hurdles to 7.48 in a winning effort at the SEC Indoor Championships. The Auburn standout is headed for a collision course with fellow Watch List member Brackins at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Wolfe, who hails from Denver, Colorado, has raced sparingly this season but sizzled the track when he did. The North Carolina standout is the second fastest performer in collegiate history in the 3000 meters with his 7:30.23 clocking at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. Then he anchored the Tar Heels to the DMR title at the ACC Indoor Championships.

Eleven athletes received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee, but not enough to land on this prestigious chart: Favour Ashe of Oregon, Makanakaishe Charamba of Auburn, Eli Kosiba of Grand Valley State, Tinoda Matsatsa of Georgetown, Aidan McCarthy of Cal Poly, Chinecherem Nnamdi of Baylor, Daniel Reynolds of Wyoming, Jonathan Seremes of Missouri, Aleksandr Solovev of Texas A&M, Keyshawn Strachan of Nebraska, and Sam Whitmarsh of Texas A&M.

The next Men’s Watch List comes out Thursday, March 27.