The fourth update of the 2026 Bowerman Award Watch List, published by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Wednesday, has crystallised the men's and women's collegiate races with less than two months to run before the top-three finalists are announced. New Mexico's Habtom Samuel sits at the top of the men's list, while BYU freshman Jane Hedengren is the unanimous favourite on the women's side as the NCAA outdoor season pivots towards its conference peak.
Samuel is the only male collegian holding NCAA records both indoors and out — a 2-mile mark from February and the 5000-metre collegiate record he set at the Bryan Clay Invitational in mid-April. Add the indoor NCAA 5000m title to the ledger and the Eritrean's case is the most complete on either list. Northern Arizona's Colin Sahlman, who swept the indoor 3000m and DMR titles and clipped the 800-metre indoor collegiate record en route, slots second on most ballots, with Ole Miss thrower Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan and USC sprinter Garrett Kaalund — making his third consecutive watch list — rounding out a tight chase pack.
Hedengren's profile is even harder to argue with. The 19-year-old has held the women's collegiate 5000m record since opening her indoor campaign with a 14:44.79 in December, and has since added outdoor collegiate marks in the 5K and the 10K plus an indoor NCAA distance double in the 3K and 5K. The USTFCCCA noted she is the first freshman to sweep both indoor distance titles in the same season. Alabama's Doris Lemngole, the 2025 Bowerman winner who has stayed in school for one more outdoor campaign, is widely seen as the only contender capable of catching her.
For both Samuel and Hedengren the path to a clean Bowerman case still runs through the conference, regional and NCAA championship meets, and there is enough variance in those rounds for any frontrunner to fall out of contention. Sahlman, in particular, will get repeated opportunities at Mt SAC, the Big Sky and the West Region to reset the case for the men's award, and Lemngole's steeplechase season has barely started. The committee has also signalled that lap-counted, head-to-head NCAA performances will weigh more heavily than fast invitational times in the closing month.
The next watch list update is due on 28 May, the week after the East and West preliminary rounds. NCAA finalists will be revealed in mid-June ahead of the championship meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, with the awards ceremony scheduled for late July in Indianapolis. For now Samuel and Hedengren carry the favourites' tag — but the watch list's history suggests at least one upset awaits before the trophies are handed out.