The 2024 track and field season is getting started. That means that there will be brand new NCAA champions in most events. If you really want to know who has the talent to dominate the NCAA, you can figure it out before the gun goes off. Anyone who is going to win anything of note has already been doing it prior to getting to college. They just have to perform at their best while wearing a new uniform. This list is a breakdown of the top 5 freshmen men with the potential to dominate the NCAA this season. It will only include athletes who competed for American high schools although the Division 1 teams recruit globally. But regardless these athletes can give anyone a run for their money.

5. Brody Buffington – Georgia (sprints) 

Brody Buffington will be sprinting for the University of Georgia. They just loss Matthew Boling so his commitment is proof they are simply reloading. He ran 10.15 in the 100 meter dash but also ran fast enough indoors in both the 60 and 200 meter dashes to threaten to make the NCAA meet. The SEC conference is highly competitive but he has the talent to make the finals of any event that he enters right now. If that is true, under the right conditions he could also make an NCAA championship final.

4. Nathaniel Rayan – Clemson (110 hurdles)

Nate Rayan is now competing for Clemson in the ACC, with a good shot at winning the entire conference already. He is a hurdler who won the USATF Under 20 event, which proves that the higher hurdles in college will not be a problem for him. He has a chance to make a 100 hurdle final at the NCAAs already, and might even shock the world indoors. In fact, Grant Holloway has already proven that a freshman can win the hurdles both indoors and outdoors.

3. Riyon Rankin – Georgia (HJ) 

Riyon Ranking will join Brody competing for the Bulldogs. He is a high jumper who broke the 7 foot barrier during both his junior and senior years. If he jumps like himself he is basically a lock to score points both indoors and outdoors in the high jump at the NCAA Championships. That is a very big deal because almost nobody comes to college that good immediately.

2. Simeon Birnbaum – Oregon (distance)

Simeon Birnbaum was the most dominant high school distance runner last season. USA Today named him their boys athlete of the year after being ranked the top miler and 3200 runner in the nation. But he can also run the 800 meter almost as well as anyone. He didn’t compete during cross country, in 2023. Yet it is clear that he has the talent to run with the best right now, and perhaps become Oregon’s next great distance runner. 

1. Issam Asinga – Texas A&M (sprints)

Issam Asinga is slated to compete for Texas A&M. He is one of the greatest sprint recruits in history. Instead of listing his high school accolades it should be noted that Issam beat Noah Lyles in a 100 meter dash race,. That was during the same season when Noah would later become the World Champion. He has actually broken the 20 second barrier in the 200 meter dash as well, wind legal. The truth is that if he doesn’t at the very least make the final of any NCAA championship event that he enters, it is a disappointment. Trayvon Bromell won the NCAA championship in the 100 meter dash as a freshmen and that is the expectation for Issam Asinga.

The Bottom Line

College track and field is so competitive that it might as well be professional level. Many talented freshmen have come to college and things did not go as planned. However, each of the names on this list have what it takes not just to compete but to win. Some of them might take longer than others to climb to the top of the leaderboards, but winning is the ultimate goal for all of them. If they do win, the only reason that it happened so soon, is because they’ve already done it before. They just weren’t competing in the NCAA at the time.

LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD, RUN GOOD.

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