AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn track & field sophomore Ja’Kobe Tharp was named to the prestigious Bowerman Preseason Watch List, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Thursday afternoon.
As a freshman, Tharp wrote his name in the school record books en route to winning an SEC Outdoor championship and finishing a national runner up in the 110m hurdles. Last season Tharp made his watch list career debut on May 16th. Entering his second season for the Tigers, he starts on the preseason list for the first time in his collegiate career.
In the qualifying round of the 110m hurdles at the outdoor Southeastern Championships in 2024, Tharp broke the Auburn 16-year-old record. His time of 13.24 broke Auburn SEC and NCAA Champion Ty Atkin’s school record (13.25).
He went on to win the SEC title with a time of 13.18, making him the first Auburn 110m hurdler to win SECs since Atkins (2007). The Rockvale, Tennessee native posted the fourth fastest time in the world at the time and broke Renaldo Nehemiah’s 46-year-old American Junior (U20) record. For his performance, he was named to the All-SEC First Team.
At the NCAA East Preliminaries, Tharp qualified for the outdoor championships in the 110m hurdles, running 13.24 to become Auburn’s first freshman qualifier in the event since 1976.
At the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Tharp claimed silver in the 110m hurdles (13.20), becoming the first Auburn freshman to finish second or better at the outdoor championships since 2017. He went on to earn first team all-America honors.
Tharp is the fifth Auburn man to be named to a watch list, joining Harry Adams (2013), Nathon Allen (2018), Akeem Bloomfield (2018) and Keyshawn Strachan (2023).
The Bowerman is named after former Oregon Head Coach Bill Bowerman and is bestowed to collegiate track & field’s top male and female athlete for the year. Members of the Bowerman Advisory Board vote on the athletes and the “watch list” represents the group’s consensus top ten. Athletes who are “receiving votes” are listed on at least one member’s top ten, but did not receive enough votes to be listed in the consensus top ten. There are eight watch lists during the season and next update is February 5th for the women and February 6th for the men.
Last year’s winners were Florida’s Parker Valby and Texas’ Leo Neugebauer.
To view a full list of the preseason watch list, visit here.
Up Next
Tharp and the Tigers will be back in action for the Ted Nelson Invitational in Bryan-College Station, Texas Saturday, January 25.