The Bowerman: Women’s Pre-NCAA Outdoor Championships Watch List

NEW ORLEANS – The final Women’s Watch List for The Bowerman in 2025 has something none of the year’s previous editions has – no changes.

After a year that had the most female athletes (27) and programs (19) appear on any year’s Watch List, the Pre-NCAA Outdoor Championships edition released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) repeats with the same 10 athletes.

Here are the ten women remaining with only the Final Site action of the NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 11-14 left on the collegiate calendar: Silan Ayyildiz of Oregon, Alexis Brown of Baylor, Aaliyah Butler of Georgia, JaMeesia Ford of South Carolina, Pamela Kosgei of New Mexico, Doris Lemngole of Alabama, Indya Mayberry of TCU, Amanda Moll of Washington, Michaela Rose of LSU and Jayden Ulrich of Louisville.

The Bowerman 2025 will be awarded in December at the USTFCCCA Convention in Grapevine, Texas.

Ayyildiz, who hails from Istanbul, Turkey, will compete in the 1500 meters at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. She broke the Collegiate Record in the outdoor mile at the Drake Relays in 4:25.50 after setting a pair of CRs indoors in the same race at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational – 4:23.36 for the mile that included an en route time of 4:05.66 for the 1500 meters. She was instrumental in another indoor CR, bringing Oregon from third place to victory in the distance medley relay a week later at the Terrier DMR Challenge with a 4:26.46 anchor for 1600 meters as the Ducks ran 10:42.05. This is her fourth Watch List appearance.

Brown, who hails from Kennedale, Texas, will compete in the long jump at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. She is undefeated in the event this year and won the NCAA DI Indoor crown with a leap of 6.90m (22-7¾) to rate No. =7 all-time collegiately while also placing sixth in the 60. Outdoors she spanned 7.03m (23-0¾) at the Big 12 Championships to become just the third 7-meter/23-foot jumper in collegiate history. This is her second Watch List appearance.

Butler, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will compete in the 400 and as a member of Georgia’s 4×400 relay team at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. She has yet to lose a head-to-head 400 race this year, sweeping the SEC indoor and outdoor crowns. Indoors she is No. 3 all-time collegiately at 49.78, while outdoors she is No. 5 with a best of 49.44. She also has the third-fastest 400 split all-time with her 48.86 anchor at the SEC Outdoor Championships, anchoring the Bulldogs’ runner-up 4×400 finish in the SEC Outdoor Championships. This is her seventh Watch List appearance.

Ford, who hails from Fayetteville, North Carolina, will compete in the 100 and 200 meters and as a member of South Carolina’s 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. The finals for all four events are on the same day, just as they were at the SEC Outdoor Championships when she swept the 100 and 200 and helped both relay teams to victory (including a 49.56 third-leg split in the 4×400 that gave the Gamecocks a lead that no one catch). Her time in the 200 of 22.01 made her No. 5 all-time collegiately. She is undefeated head-to-head in individual events all year. That includes indoors, where she is No. 4 all-time collegiately in the 200 at 22.34. This is her 12^th Watch List appearance.

Kosgei, who hails from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya, will compete in the 5000 and 10,000 meters at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. Which event(s) she contested had to be difficult – she ranks as the No. 2 collegian all-time in three events, achieving all in the span of three weeks. Her outdoor season started with an eye-opening six-day double in late-March/early-April that made her No. 2 collegian all-time in both the steeplechase (9:15.93) and 10,000 (31:02.73). She nailed another No. 2 all-time collegiate performance in winning the 5000 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational with her 14:52.45 missing the CR by just 0.27 seconds. Then a week later she won 10,000 at the Don Kirby Tailwind Twilight by over five minutes in 31:58.51 – at 5120 feet (1560 meters) of altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico in registering the fastest time for any woman at high altitude outside of Africa. She is undefeated against collegians in all events outdoors this year. Indoors she was third in the NCAA DI 5000 before taking 11^th in the 3000. This is her fourth Watch List appearance.

Lemngole, who hails from West Pokot County, Kenya, will compete in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships, defending her title from last year with a then-CR 9:15.24. She has surpassed that time twice this year – first in April by lowering it be more than five seconds in winning the Wake Forest Invitational by over 17 seconds in 9:10.13, then again in last weekend’s East First Rounds at 9:13.12. She now owns five of the top-10 collegiate performances all-time, with three coming this year. She set a PR in the 1500 at 4:09.28 in April while winning the Crimson Tide Invitational by over nine seconds, and an outdoor PR in the 5000 in May to win the SEC Outdoor title by over 17 seconds in 15:11.62. She is undefeated in all events outdoors this year. Indoors she had a pair of notable 5000-meter races – the first in a CR 14:52.57 in early December and the other in mid-March to win the NCAA DI Indoor title in 15:05.93, the No. 9 all-time performance collegiately. She was also runner-up in the 3000 at the NCAA DI Indoor after earlier moving to No. 5 on the all-time collegiate list at 8:41.83. This is her eighth Watch List appearance, and she is the only woman to appear on every Watch List this year.

Mayberry, who hails from Allen, Texas, will compete in the 100 and 200 meters and as a member of TCU’s 4×100 relay team at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. She set PRs to win the 100 (11.03) and 200 (22.47) at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in addition to anchoring the runner-up 4×100 relay team. She improved her 200 PR in last weekend’s West First Rounds with at 20.30. Her outdoor season started with a pair of winning performances at the Texas Relays, where her rocket opening leg in the 4×100 relay helped TCU win in 42.87 before returning to take the 100 in a wind-aided 10.91 that remains the tied for the fastest among collegians in all-conditions this year. In the winter she won the 200 at the NCAA DI Indoor Championships in 22.30 to become No. 4 all-time collegiately after earlier placing fourth in the 60 (in which she clocked a PR 7.11 earlier in the season). This is her sixth Watch List appearance.

Moll, who hails from Olympia, Washington, will compete in the pole vault at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. She has raised the CR six times this year – twice outdoors and four times indoors. Her most recent CR of 4.78m (15-8¼) came at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, which was an improvement from her 4.76m (15-7¼) two weeks earlier at the Desert Heat Classic. Her highest clearance of the year came indoors with the first absolute collegiate 16-foot performance at 4.91m (16-1¼). She won the NCAA DI Indoor title with a meet record 4.70m (15-5) and finished the undercover season with six of the top-8 all-time performances collegiately. This is her seventh Watch List appearance.

Rose, who hails from Suffolk, Virginia, will compete in the 800 meters and as a member of LSU’s 4×400 relay team at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. A former DI champion in the 800 from 2023, she broke her own full-series meet record with a time of 1:58.91 at the East First Rounds last weekend. She improved her No. 2 all-time standing in early May with a PR 1:58.12 that is behind only the 1:57.73 CR by 2021 The Bowerman winner Athing Mu. Undefeated in the 800 outdoors this year, Rose owns six of the top-10 all-time collegiate performances, including four of the top-5. She also lowered her 1500 PR to 4:10.38 in April. Indoors she was fourth at the NCAA DI Indoor and had a seasonal best of 2:00.25. This is her 14^th Watch List appearance, making her the active career leader.

Ulrich, who hails from East Alton, Illinois, will compete in the shot put and discus at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. Undefeated in finals in both events this outdoor season, she has made the biggest news in the discus, led by winning the World Throws Invitational B section at 69.39m (227-8) to move to No. 2 all-time among collegians. That followed a then-PR victory at the South Florida Alumni Invitational three weeks earlier at 66.63m (218-7), and she led all qualifiers to the DI championships with a throw of 64.81m (212-8) in the East First Rounds last weekend. She was NCAA DI runner-up last year before making the U.S. Olympic team for the Paris Olympics. In the shot put she has gone 18.52m (60-9¼) this spring – her outdoor best is 18.66m (61-2¾) from last year – and was fifth in the NCAA DI Indoor in March. This is her fourth Watch List appearance.

Six more athletes received votes from The Bowerman Watch List Committee but fell outside the Top 10: Temitope Adeshina of Texas Tech, Lexy Halladay-Lowry of BYU, Meghan Hunter of BYU, Klaudia Kazimierska of Oregon, Brynn King or Roberts Wesleyan and Mya Lesnar of Colorado State.

Semifinalists for The Bowerman will be announced on June 25.