TRANSFER: Hilda Olemomoi Signs With Florida, Reunites With Coach Will Palmer

Earlier today, the University of Florida announced that Hilda Olemomoi, a former distance runner for Alabama, will be transferring into the program. According to TFRRS, Olemomoi is expected to have two seasons of cross country eligibility, one season of indoor track and one season outdoor track eligibility.

Olemomoi is truly among the most elite distance runners in the NCAA. The newest Gator signee has run personal bests of 4:14 (1500), 8:45 (3k), 15:06 (5k) and 31:51 (10k). She has also recorded two top-10 finishes at the NCAA XC Championships. In total, she has collected an eyebrow-raising nine All-American honors between all three seasons of competition.

The introduction of Olemomoi to Gainesville, Florida was admittedly one of the worst-kept secrets in the NCAA. Coach Will Palmer previously used to oversee the women's distance program at Alabama (and he first introduced Olemomoi to the NCAA from the NJCAA ranks) before being hired by Florida in the spring of 2023.

Now, the superstar distance ace will reunite with her once-former coach.

For as strong as Olemomoi may be, Florida will still have a need for greater firepower and scoring support moving forward. That's because Parker Valby, Flomena Asekol and Elise Thorner are all expected to be departing the program this summer, either to turn pro or due to expired eligibility (or both). Amelia Mazza-Downie may also be departing as well, although TSR has not yet confirmed that.

Even so, there is still some excellent talent on this roster beyond Olemomoi. Allison Wilson has proven that she can be an impact scorer on the grass and incoming freshman Tia Wilson, an 8:57 (3k) runner from Great Britain, figures to be a contributor as well.

If Coach Will Palmer opts to be as active and as aggressive in the transfer portal this summer as he was last year, then there is a good possibility that Hilda Olemomoi will not be the only headline-worthy addition that the Gators make in the coming months.

Judy Kosgei -- a soon-to-be-former South Carolina standout who has recently entered the transfer portal -- could be another name on the radar of Palmer and Florida. Should she choose Gainesville, Coach Will Palmer will have effectively pulled off a "roster reload" rather than a "roster rebuild."