AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn track & field assistant head coach Ken Harnden was named the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Assistant Coach of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) organization announced Monday.
In his third year at Auburn, it marks the second consecutive outdoor season that Harnden, who coaches the men’s sprints and hurdles, has received the national award.
Last week, Harnden was named the USTFCCCA South Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year, marking the third time he’s taken home the regional award for the Tigers.
At the outdoor championships earlier this month, he helped lead the men to a fourth-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The team’s fourth-place finish was the third consecutive trophy on the men’s side after claiming third at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships and runner up trophy at the 2024 outdoor championships.
Harden’s sprinters accounted for all 35 points on the men’s side in Eugene. It was the first time the Auburn men had consecutive top five finishes at outdoor nationals since 2007-08.
The men’s 4x100m relay team of sophomore Kayinsola Ajayi, junior Azeem Fahmi, and seniors Dario Matau and Makanakaishe Charamba won their second-consecutive NCAA championship (38.33), becoming the first repeat champions in the event since Auburn head coach Leroy Burrell’s Houston team won in 2017 and 2018.
Sophomore hurdler Ja’Kobe Tharp won Auburn’s other national title, claiming the 110m hurdles championship, running the third fastest time in the world this year in the 110m hurdles (13.05). With the fifth fastest collegiate time ever in the event, Tharp was Auburn’s first 110m hurdles national champion since Ty Akins won in 2007. A Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native, Tharp won the NCAA Indoor title in March in the 60m hurdles.
Last week, Tharp was named the USTFCCCA Men’s South Region Track Athlete of the Year.
In the 100m dash, sophomore Ajayi and freshman Okon finished fourth and seventh, respectively, with the former crossing in 10.13 and the latter in 10.18. This was the second consecutive year that Auburn had two men in the finals of the race.
Senior Charamba equaled his program record in the 200m (19.92) to claim silver, delivering the Tigers’ best finish in the event at outdoor nationals since Coby Miller also finished second in 1999 and 2000.
Six sprinters earned First Team All-America honors for their performances at the outdoor championships, including Ajayi (100m & 4x100m relay), Charamba (200m & 4x100m relay), Fahmi (4x100m relay), Matau (4x100m relay), Israel Okon (100m), Tharp (110m hurdles).
Throughout the 2025 outdoor season, four school records were broken on the men’s sprint side by Ajayi in the 100m (9.92), Charamba in the 200m (19.92), Tharp in the 110m hurdles (13.05) and the 4x100m relay (37.97).
At the end of the 2024 outdoor season, Harnden was selected as the USTFCCCA National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year and the South Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. He helped lead the men to a second-place finish at the conclusion of the season.
Member coaches voted on the award winners following the conclusion of the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Performances throughout the outdoor season were considered when voting for the honors.
For a full list of the 2025 USTFCCCA national winners, visit here.