The fourth watch list update for The Bowerman, collegiate track and field’s top individual award was revealed this week. Less than two months remain until the committee reveals its top-three finalists, meaning the race for The Bowerman is heating up. Here's an early look at where I think things stand as the calendar approaches the month of May.
Disclaimer: This is not a reflection or indication of the actual committee's view on any of the athletes or their voting process, nor how they will vote in the future.
Top women's contenders for The Bowerman
No. 1 contender — Jane Hedengren | BYU
Hedengren is only a freshman, but she’s been on every watch list dating back to the preseason. Why is that? Well, the phenom did open her season with an indoor collegiate record of 14:44.79 5000 meters after all.
Hedengren has since added two more outdoor collegiate records in the 5K and 10K, plus indoor NCAA championships in the 3K and 5K, making her the first freshman to achieve the distance sweep indoors.
Hedengren has a loaded resume as a rookie, putting her in the lead for The Bowerman as championship season approaches.
HALFWAY THERE: 20 midseason superlatives for the outdoor track and field season
No. 2 contender — Adaejah Hodge | Georgia
Hodge finished the 100 meters in 10.77 in April, just 0.02 seconds behind Sha’Carri Richardson, 2019 winner of The Bowerman's collegiate record in the event. She also ran an NCAA No. 2 22.10 in the 200 meters, giving her a great shot at an outdoor double in June.
Indoors, Hodge won the 200 meters while not losing to any collegiate athlete around the short track lap and having the sixth-fastest indoor finish all-time in 22.22. She was the runner-up in the 60 meters and helped lead Georgia to the women’s team title.
Hodge doesn’t have the collegiate records that the top contender has, but she does have that team title boosting her resume in her first year of collegiate action.
DAWGS: How a new facility has Georgia track and field gearing up for an exciting championship season
No. 3 contender — Anthonett Nabwe | Minnesota
It might be a bit of recency bias here, but Nabwe’s outdoor success so far this season has earned her a spot in the top three. She was only 0.03m off of the hammer throw collegiate record with a 77.64m toss at Drake Relays, and she has another top-10 all-time throw this season too.
Nabwe ranks No. 5 nationally in the discus and is on pace to make the first round meet in the shot put. Could she qualify and compete in three different throwing events in Eugene?
Nabwe also won the indoor weight throw NCAA title, already giving her a piece of hardware this season. After that indoor success, there hasn’t been a better thrower this spring than her.
CATCH UP NOW: An early-season recap of the 2026 DI outdoor track and field season
Ones to watch
- Axelina Johansson | Nebraska
- Johansson has an indoor collegiate record and title in the shot put, but just misses out on the top three here. She’s only thrown the shot put once this outdoor season — albeit the fifth-best throw in collegiate history at 19.62m. With more performances with higher stakes as the season progresses, I can easily see Johansson rising to the top of this list. She’s proven to be one of the nation’s top throwers across multiple seasons.
- Doris Lemngole | Alabama
- The reigning winner of The Bowerman is Doris Lemngole. She set a 3K collegiate record indoors, but after a foot injury at indoor championships, she’s yet to compete this spring.
- Hana Moll | Washington
- Moll won the indoor pole vault title and has already set an outdoor pole vault collegiate record. She’s another field event athlete that has a legitimate argument for a finalist spot at this point in the season.
- Shenese Walker | Florida State
- Walker won the indoor 60 meter title after running 7.07 in the prelims to become the No. 6 all-time collegiate performer. Outdoors, the FSU sprinter has already run 10.80 in the 100 meters, the fifth-fastest finish all-time. If she breaks the collegiate record and wins the 100 meter title, she could be hard to keep out of the finalist group.
AWARDS: The 2026 Bowerman Watch List for men's and women's NCAA track and field
Top men's contenders for The Bowerman
No. 1 contender — Habtom Samuel | New Mexico
Habtom Samuel is the only male collegian with an NCAA record indoors (2-mile) and outdoors (5000 meters). Samuel also won the indoor NCAA title in the 5K. While a DQ in the indoor 3K final causes Samuel to lose a data point from his resume, the stats that he’s accumulated put him in the front of a very tight men’s race for The Bowerman.
No. 2 contender — Colin Sahlman | Northern Arizona
Sahlman won NCAA indoor titles in the 3000 meters and the DMR. He also set an indoor collegiate record in the 800 meters. He showed off impressive versatility across mid-distance and distance events indoors.
Sahlman has done the same outdoors with individual events ranging from the 800 to 5K. He ranks No. 2 nationally in the 800 and No. 7 in the 1500 meters. These outdoor performances support his indoor titles and record to slot him second amongst contenders.
MORE MEETS: Penn Relays | Texas Relays | Florida Relays
No. 3 contender — Ja’Kobe Tharp | Auburn
Tharp is a returning finalist from last season and has lived up to the hype. Tharp set an indoor collegiate record in the 60 meter hurdles en route to a championship, breaking the record formerly held by 2019 winner of The Bowerman Grant Holloway.
Outdoors, Tharp has run the fastest wind-legal 110 meter hurdles time of 13.09, the 10th-fastest in collegiate history. As a former finalist, Tharp gets the final, tightly-contested spot.
RECORD TRACKER: Every track and field record broken in 2026
Ones to watch
- Kanyinsola Ajayi | Auburn
- Ajayi tied the 60 meter collegiate record twice at 6.45 seconds and won the NCAA title in the event. He’s definitely in contention after that, but with just one outdoor race, he’s not yet in the top three.
- Peyton Bair | Oregon
- Is the indoor heptathlon champion redshirting outdoors? If so, there ends his case for The Bowerman. However, a comeback performance at Big Ten Championships could launch Bair right back into contention.
- Simeon Birnbaum | Oregon
- Birnbaum made his debut on the latest watch list, so it’s a bit to early for him to be a top-three contender. However, he did set a collegiate record outdoors in the 1500 with a runner-up finish in the indoor 3K under his belt too.
- Garrett Kaalund | Southern California
- Kaalund set an NCAA indoor 200 meter record with a 19.95 second championship win. Now, Kaalund leads the nation in the outdoor 200 meters while sitting No. 3 in the 100 meters. A sprint double could separate him from the pack come June.
- Geoffrey Kirwa | Louisville
- Kirwa didn’t compete at NCAA indoors, hurting his resume in comparison with other watch list members. However, Kirwa has the potential to break Henry Rono’s steeplechase collegiate record that’s stood since 1978. If he makes history — especially on the grand stage known as Hayward Field — he’ll be hard to keep out of the finalist group.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.
