The title of the fastest man in college is normally given to the Division 1 NCAA champion in the 100 meter dash. Winning that event is perhaps the most challenging of all the events at the NCAAs because before you can even get to the final, you have to run three rounds of preliminaries between the regional weekend and national event itself. So where are they now? The fastest men in the entire NCAAs throughout the past decade? Because winning the NCAA meet is not expected to be the end of your track career, but rather the moment when it truly gets started.

To qualify for this list the criteria is simple. You have to win the NCAA Division 1 championship final in the 100 meter dash. Which is extremely hard to do. Because incredibly talented sprinters on the world stage right now, like Marvin Bracy, Fred Kerley, and even Matthew Boling have never done it. And I will count backwards from the present day, all the way through the 2010s so that nobody, or their accomplishments is left out.

Joseph Fahnbulleh - Florida (2022)

In 2022 Joseph Fahnbulleh was the NCAA champion in the 100 meter dash and the 200 meter dash. He ran 10.00 with a wind legal .6 wind and was technically a junior at Florida at the time, but still had 2 more seasons of track and field eligibility remaining. For the record, that 200 meter win was his second in a row at the NCAAs. He continued running at the world championships that season finishing 4th in the 200 meter dash representing Liberia. He later turned pro officially by signing with Asics, even running a few 200 meter races in the Diamond League. But now in 2023 he is already off to a fast start running 9.98 in the 100 meter dash to set a new PR at the start of the season back on his home track at the University of Florida.

Terrance Laird - LSU (2021)

Terrance Laird was the champion in 2021 representing LSU as a Junior. He transferred there after becoming a medalist in the 100 meter and 200 meter at the NJCAA level. But he made his one season at LSU count by running 10.05 with a .4 wind to take the title. He did make the 200 meter final at the US Olympic trials immediately after that season, but mysteriously disappeared from the track scene after that. In 2023 he has only officially run several times, and did not win the event in any of those appearances.

Divine Oduduru - Texas Tech (2019)

The year 2020 did not crown an NCAA champion, and we all know why, so 2019 was the last NCAA championship that was contested. In that year Divine Oduduru of Texas Tech stole the show as a double champion in the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes. He actually ran 9.86 in the 100 with a legal .8 wind. Representing Nigeria he turned pro after this his junior season and ran Diamond league races and at the Africa Games immediately after NCAAs. He ran sparingly in 2020 like everyone else, but was only last seen on the track in 2021 where he made the 200 meter semifinal at the Olympic games. But he is now serving out a lengthy suspension for using performance enhancing drugs which means we may have seen the last of Divine Oduduru already.

Cameron Burrell - Houston (2018)

In 2018 it was a senior Cameron Burrell of Houston, who was actually second the year prior in the 100 meter dash to win the championship. He ran 10.13 into a -.9 headwind to get the victory. He later made the 100 meter final at the USA championships that year and ran professionally in 2019 without any true standout performances. He did run through to the 2021 outdoor season where he continued to struggle to put down elite performances. However, he unfortunately died tragically during the summer of 2021. Rest in peace to Cameron Burrell, he was only 26 years old.

Christian Coleman - Tennessee (2017)

In 2017 it was a Junior Christian Coleman of Tennessee who won the NCAA 100 meter dash, completing the double with the 200 meter. He ran 10.04 which is only so slow because it was into a -2.1 headwind which makes a real difference on the clock. He finished second at the USATF championships in the 100 later that season, and later became a world champion in the 100 meter dash in 2019. On top of all that he owns the 60 meter dash world record. He is back on the track in 2023 flirting with the 20 second barrier in the 200 meter dash, and putting down sub 6.5 second 60s, which is proof he is ready for another run at being the world’s fastest man.

Jarrion Lawson - Arkansas (2016)

In 2016 Senior Jarrion Lawson of Arkansas who shocked the track world, by puling the Jesse Owens triple. He won the 100 meter, 200 meter, and long jump at the NCAA meet, running 10.22 seconds into a -2.3 headwind. He signed with Asics and in 2017 became the world championship silver medalist in the long jump. Which has clearly been his main event since turning pro. But after competing only a few times in 2022 he hasn’t recorded any official performances in 2023. Which means we may have seen the last of Jarrion Lawson.

Andre De Grasse - USC (2015)

The year 2015 belonged to Andre De Grasse of USC who dominated the NCAA meet in the 100 and 200. The year prior he finished first and second in the NJCAA 200 meter dash, and 100 meter dash which is why 2015 was his only year running at USC. But since that time he has gone on to become a dominant force in both events as an Olympic and World Champion. At one point in 2016 he was one of the few men who had a real shot at beating the Usain Bolt. Most recently he helped lead Canada to a surprise World Championship victory in the 4x100 meter relay in 2022 and he appears to be back on track for another go of it in 2023.

Trayvon Bromell - Baylor (2014)

2014 belongs to the only underclassmen on this entire list. Trayvon Bromell won the NCAA 100 meter dash as a freshman at Baylor. He did it running 9.97 seconds wind legal. He turned pro after his sophomore year where he got second at the NCAAs, but he has been a 100 meter threat ever since. He has run on numerous Olympic teams, and world championship teams for the USA. He has held down the world leading time in the 60 meter and 100 meter dashes a few times, and has two bronze medals at the world championships to his name, to go a long with a Diamond league championship. Having overcome a major injury from 2016, Bromell is now back in top form running fast times in 2023.

Charles Silmon - TCU (2013)

The year 2013 is when Senior Charles Silmon of TCU became the NCAA champion in the 100. He ran 9.89 wind aided at 3.2 meters per second to get the victory. He was really a 100 meter specialist who would run at the USA championships a few times immediately after college through to 2015. Since then he has barely competed at all internationally and fallen away from his collegiate form, and was last seen on the track in 2021 where he was running as an unattached athlete.

Andrew Riley - Illinois (2012)

The year 2012 was unlike any other where Jamaican Andrew Riley shocked the world by winning the 110 meter hurdles and the 100 meter dash at the same NCAA championship. He ran 10.28 into a -2.3 headwind to get the job done. Since that meet he really has only run the 110 hurdles outdoors seriously. He was an Olympian in 2012 representing Jamaica, and later the Jamaican 110 hurdles champion in 2013, and 14. He only made one World Championship final in his career in the hurdles and last competed officialy in 2021 at the Jamaican championships where he finished sixth.

Ngoni Makusha - Florida State (2011)

Last but not least is junior Ngoni Makusha of Florida State who lit the track world on fire by winning the 100 meter dash and long jump at the NCAAs in 2011. Representing Zimbabwe he ran 9.89 to win the NCAA meet, yet he never competed in the 100 meter dash seriously after that meet. He was actually an Olympic finalist in 2008 in the long jump, the only time he would ever compete in the Olympics. So in many ways winning the NCAA meet was his last great performance of his career. He last competed in 2019 but we will always remember the man from Zimbabwe who stole the show at the NCAAs.

The Bottom Line

Winning an NCAA championship at the division 1 level is a very big deal. For some who do, it might be the greatest achievement for the track and field career, and for others only the beginning. There is no way for us as fans to know which way things may go. But one thing is for certain, that if you are an NCAA champion, especially in the 100 meter dash. We will always be watching you, until you hang up your spikes for that last race of your career.

KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.

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