AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn track & field hurdling superstar Ja’Kobe Tharp has been named to his fifth consecutive Bowerman Watch List for the 2025 season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Thursday afternoon.
Debuting in 2009, The Bowerman is the highest award given in collegiate track and field to the top male and female athlete at the conclusion of the season. The award is named after former Oregon Head Coach Bill Bowerman. Last year’s recipients were Parker Valby from Florida and Leo Neugebauer from Texas.
This is the fifth consecutive Bowerman Watch List that Tharp has appeared on this season. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee native first appeared on the list during the 2024 outdoor season.
Tharp has competed in one meet so far this outdoor season at the Pepsi Florida Relays. Racing in the 4x100m relay for the first time of his collegiate career, Tharp and company fifth in the preliminary round of the event (39.05). The relay’s time is currently No. 10 in the nation and No. 4 in the conference.
At the close of the indoor season, Tharp was named the USTFCCCA South Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year. He also gave Auburn its first individual sprint title since 1999 after taking gold in the 60m hurdles racing in his first NCAA Indoor Championships (7.45). Tharp’s time broke his own school record and is the fifth fastest time in collegiate history.
He was awarded First-Team All America honors and helped lead the men’s team to a third-place finish at NCAAs. This was the second consecutive trophy for the men after taking second at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Racing at the SEC Indoor Championships in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Tharp won the 60m hurdles (7.48). In route to the conference title, he broke the R.A. “Murray” Fasken ‘38 Indoor Track & Field facility record and brought home Auburn’s first gold medal in the event since Ty Akins won in 2008.
Tharp is one of five male athletes in program history to be named to the watch list, including Harry Adams (2013), Nathon Allen (2018), Akeem Bloomfield (2018) and Keyshawn Strachan (2023).
To view a full list of April’s Watch List, visit here.
Up Next
Tharp and the Tigers will split duties between the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, April 17-18 and the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, April 18-19.