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On Thursday morning, Florida's Parker Valby announced that she has officially signed a pro contract with New Balance. Per RunnersWorld, she will train with the New Balance Boston group which features Olympians such as Emily Mackay, Heather MacLean and Elle St. Pierre.
The now-departed Gator star, who had mentioned earlier this year that she would not be returning to the NCAA for the 2024-2025 academic calendar year, previously held a "Name, Image and Likeness" (NIL) deal with Nike. Per RunnersWorld, that same deal is likely what delayed Valby from officially signing a pro contract due to a "right of first refusal" clause said to be written in her NIL contract.
RunnersWorld also reported this summer that, in addition to Nike and New Balance, Puma was also in the running to potentially sign the Gator megastar to a pro deal.
Valby will go down as one of, if not the, greatest collegiate distance runners of all-time. The newly-signed New Balance pro secured six NCAA titles during her time at Florida in addition to three separate All-American honors. She has ended her time as a collegian with personal bests of 8:41 (3k), 14:52 (5k) and 30:50 (10k), the latter two marks being NCAA records.
However, Valby has since gone on to record a new 5k PR of 14:51 at the USA Olympic Trials this past summer. Valby also contested the 10k at the Olympic Trials earlier this year, finishing runner-up. That performance allowed her to advance to the Paris Olympics where she would place 11th overall.