As the high school year begins, many senior track stars are starting to narrow down their college choices and visit campuses. 

They won’t be able to officially sign their National Letter of Intents until November, but the recruiting landscape is in full gear.

Below, we look at five boys recruits in the Class of 2025 who had extraordinary junior years and helped their standing among colleges. 

These boys are all in MileSplit’s most recent recruiting rankings that were released this month, but they were unranked in the previous rankings that were published in November 2023.

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Niles Briggman, Hayfield Secondary (VA)

Ranking: No. 10

Briggman entered this year without much hype. He had never reached a state final and never been on the national radar, compared against elite athletes in his class. 

He is no longer an unknown commodity.

At the Virginia Class 6 State Outdoor Championships, Briggman won the 200m (21.25) and finished second in the 100m (10.67). Two weeks later, he won the 100m (10.56) and 200m (20.72) at adidas Track Nationals.

Among members of the Class of 2025 during the outdoor season, Briggman was U.S. No. 21 in the 100m (10.47) and U.S. No. 2 in the 200m (20.72).

Le’Ezra Brown, Greensboro Dudley (NC)

Ranking: No. 4

Brown showed this year that he is one of the best sprinters and hurdlers in the country.

During the indoor season, Brown was second in the 60m hurdles (7.74) at Nike Indoor Nationals. Then he won North Carolina State Class 3A outdoor titles in the 100m (10.43), 110m hurdles (13.55) and 300m hurdles (37.44) and 4x400m relay (3:15.16). He was even better in the postseason.

Brown was second in the 100m (10.50) at Brooks PR. He also won the 110m hurdles at Nike Outdoor Nationals (13.72) and at the AAU Junior Olympic Games (13.50) and placed third in the event (13.49) at the USATF U20 Championships.

The only two hurdlers to finish ahead of Brown at the U20 Championships were incoming college sophomores Ja’Kobe Tharp of Auburn University and Andre Korbmacher of Florida State.

During the outdoor season, Brown was U.S. No. 1 in the 110m hurdles and tied for U.S. No. 11 in the 100m among juniors.

Brown also plays defensive back and wide receiver on Dudley’s football team. He has several scholarship offers in football, including Howard University, East Tennessee State University, Gardner-Webb University and Alabama A&M University 

TJ Hansen, Freehold (MI)

Ranking: No. 13

Before this year, Hansen was well-known in his home state of Michigan. But he took it to another level as a junior, emerging as an elite recruit in the Class of 2025.

During the cross country season, he won 13 of 14 races in Michigan, including the Michigan Division 2 state title in 14:52 over 5,000 meters. He then finished fourth at the NXR Midwest Regional and 10th at Nike Cross Nationals. Manny Putz of Onalaska (WI) High School was the only junior to finish ahead of Hansen at NXN. 

During the outdoor season, Hansen had personal-bests of 4:04.28 in the mile and 9:01.66 in the 3,200m, which were U.S. No. 4 and U.S. No. 47 times among boys in the Class of 2025.

Hansen originally committed to the University of Tennessee. 

But when former Tennessee distance coach Sean Carlson took the director job at Colorado, Hansen decided to join him at Colorado. Fellow top Class of 2025 distance recruits Trey Caldwell of De La Salle (CA) and Jack Graffeo of Westford Academy (MA) also recently flipped their commitments from Tennessee to Colorado.

Luke Stradley, Etowah (GA)

Ranking: No. 8

This outdoor season, Stadley displayed his versatility and emerged as the best all-around jumper in the Class of 2025. In fact, not many athletes in recent memory have been so talented at all three jumps events.

At the Georgia Class 6A state meet in May, Stradley won the high jump (7-0) and long jump (24-9) and finished second in the triple jump (49-6). The next month, Stradley excelled at the national level.

Stradley finished fourth in the long jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals (24-7.25) and followed that up at the U.S. U20 Championships by placing sixth in the high jump (6-10.75) and seventh in the long jump (24-1).

Among boys in the Class of 2025 during the outdoor season, Stradley was U.S. No. 4 in the long jump (24-9), tied for U.S. No. 2 in the triple jump (49-6) and tied for U.S. No. 1 in the high jump (7-0).

Ethan Walther, Salesianum (DE)

Ranking: No. 14

Walther may live in the smallest state in the U.S. by population, but he has not gone unnoticed by college coaches.

During the outdoor season, Walter posted the fastest 800m time in the Class of 2025 when he ran 1:49.02 to win the Delaware Meet of Champions in May. Over the next month, he proved that was no fluke.

Walther won the 800m at the HOKA Festival of Miles (1:49.92) and then finished eighth at Brooks PR (1:51.71) and sixth at New Balance Nationals Outdoor (1:49.76).

Walther is more than a mid-distance star. He ran 4:08.91 in the 1,600m and 9:26.42 in the 3,200m this outdoor season. 

He also ran cross country last fall, including winning his race at the Great American XC Festival (15:37.70 on the 5K course) and the Delaware Division 1 state meet (16:35.20 on the 5K course) and finishing 11th in the loaded Eastern States Championship race at the Manhattan Invitational (12:45.40 on the 2.5 mile course).

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