The most talented women’s track and field teams in division 1
Britton Wilson is a World Champion in the 4x400 meter relay. She is alsoalso one of America’s greatest threats to win a medal in the 2024 Olympics. She’s the collegiate record holder in the 400 both indoors and outdoors, but a World Championship finalist in the 400 hurdles. So going forward, in her first year as a pro, she will have a tough decision to make. It is unlikely she can be at her best in both events at the same time which will force her to choose. Most division 1 track athletes hope to have a career as accomplished as Britton Wilson. But she isn’t like everyone else. She was destined for greatness long before she got to college. The Arkansas Razorbacks track team figured that out for themselves. Which is why she competed for them and not anyone else.
This is a breakdown of the most talented track teams in all of Division 1, specifically for women. Furthermore, if you are a high school recruit, I will also include what it takes to get recruited by them. The teams, and the ladies you have seen compete for all of them are incredibly familiar. But there is a reason for that. Although Britton Wilson was destined for greatness before she ever put on a college uniform, she is not special. The top teams are only at the top because they have the top talent, and a whole bunch of fire power and money to convince them to put on their uniforms. So although there are over 200 D1 track teams out there, it’s really not a fair fight, when all the top athletes line up wearing the same color.
What makes a college team “the most talented”?
I advise track and field recruits all the time, and when I do it, I gather as much information as possible on the more than 1000 college track teams that exist to help them make a decision. The data I gather was evaluated against team performances from 2019 all the way to 2023. This is for both indoor and outdoor track and field, as well as cross country. I ran the numbers for a bunch of teams, to make sure I didn’t miss out on anything, and 5 teams stand out from everyone else as clearly the most talented.
5) Texas Longhorns
The Lady Longhorns have been good for a long time, but they only got the 5 spot because they are now the reigning NCAA outdoor champions. Julien Alfred was a large part of that and now holds multiple collegiate records. But she also became a World Championship finalist immediately thereafter. She is not the only one. On their roster the Longhorns had 4 more women who were World Championship eligible beyond Julien Alfred! And almost all of their individual scorers at the NCAA meet were international recruits. Texas is a state that has more talent than almost any other in the country for high school track and field. Yet the Longhorns choose to recruit globally because the only thing better than the best recruits in the nation, are the best in the world. So, if you get recruited to compete for the University of Texas, you are probably the real deal.
4) LSU Tigers
The LSU. Tigers made this list primarily on the strength of their sprints program more than anything else. For a while they were the most dominant program in those events because they have had Mikiah Brisco, Aleia Hobbs, and of course Sha’carri Richardson in their uniform. All of which have won medals on the world stage now! You could easily argue they underachieved in 2023. But Favour Ofili is so good that she should have been a collegiate record holder. Only Julien Alfred and Abby Steiner have ever run faster than her indoors in the 200 meter dash. But she didn’t beat either of them at the NCAA meet so nobody really noticed.
3) Oregon Ducks
Oregon represents “Tracktown USA” in Eugene, and it doesn’t really matter who is in their uniform. They are always good. Whether it’s Kemba Nelson, Ariana Washington, Hannah Cunliffe, Jenna Prandini. It doesn’t seem to make a difference. They bring in top talent in the sprints and distance events, while having the best outdoor facility in the nation. They even have big time Nike sponsorship money to go with it. So it’s hard to turn them down if they give you a scholarship offer.
2) Florida Gators
If your goal is to win a National Championship, Mike Holloway of the Florida Gators has proven he can get you there. In 2023 they were led by both Talitha Diggs in the sprints and Jasmine Moore in the jumps. They each went to the World Championships in 2022 and made the finals of their events, before returning back to compete in college. Parker Valby also went back to back as NCAA champion in the outdoor 10K and again in cross country. Their coaches are so good that World Championship level pros train with them. I would argue the Gators are a Olympic track and field development program disguised as college athletics.
Honorable Mentions
Texas A&M and Kentucky just barely missed making this list. Texas A&M brought us Olympic champion Athing Mu most recently, in a long line of team USA track stars. But Kentucky produced Masai Russell, Abby Steiner before her, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone before her. All of those women became collegiate record holders. So it is clear that the Wildcats are really only interested in recruiting the best.
1) Arkansas Razorbacks
Britton Wilson and Arkansas are the most talented team in the NCAA, but it’s not really that close. They are probably the the best track team in America based on their results from top to bottom. Ackera Nugent was the 100 hurdle NCAA champion, and by all estimations Britton Wilson should have repeated in the 400 hurdles. Arkansas almost always win the SEC conference, goes number 1 in their region, and shows up to the national meet with a chance to win. And even with Britton Wilson leaving, they added the USA Junior champion in the 200 meter dash in Shawnti Jackson to take her place.
How to get recruited for Division 1 Track and Field
If you want to get recruited by one of the top track programs in Division 1 you should probably have recorded performances that are first team national elite on MileSplit. It would be best to do so in more than one event, before the beginning of your senior year of high school. It would help a whole lot if you have already won multiple state championships and made the finals at any National championship meet at the club level. Ultimately if that does not describe you just now, there are over 200 D1 track teams that might be a great fit for you. But a full-ride scholarship to one of the very top programs is not something you should hold your breath for.
The Bottom Line
College track and field is a sport that barely gets any television coverage. And it certainly doesn’t get much media attention. You can barely even track down high quality rankings on which teams are doing the best in recruiting. The truth is the best teams in track and field basically take fast people and put them in their uniform. But those same athletes who were probably already faster than everyone else, get access to the best training facilities, best gear, and coaches who may or may not be better, but certainly are higher paid than many others. It’s hard to turn down a deal like that. Britton Wilson or anyone else I named on this list would be a superstar track athlete just about anywhere. But there is a reason why she chose to run for Arkansas, and I can’t blame her. All the signs seem to point to the fact that they were the best choice.
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