Villanova Cross Country 2026 Freshmen Under Five-Year Rule

Villanova men's cross country is integrating four freshmen for 2026 under the NCAA's new five-year rule, with coach Marcus O’Sullivan expressing uncertainty about their 10K readiness. The team will open its season on September 18 at the Main Line Invitational hosted by Haverford College. Four freshmen have joined the men’s roster: Cameron Collier, Caolan McFadden, Matthew McLachlan, and Porter Spiceland. The NCAA’s new age-based 'five-for-five' rule grants student-athletes a five-year window to compete. Marcus O’Sullivan noted the novelty of the situation.

"In the past, when we brought our freshmen in, we never raced them the first season," O’Sullivan said. For the first time ever, it’s kind of exciting in one way, but I have no idea what they are going to be able to do, because the distance that they have to run is 10k, which is double the distance that they run in high school. The team has been running distance on nearby trails while monitoring physical and psychological improvement through heart rate monitoring and lactate testing via blood samples. O’Sullivan called the new team a 'lucky bag', referencing a childhood parcel from Ireland. He added, "I’ve just got the lucky bag, and I’m about to open it."

Returning leaders and recent performance set foundation

Despite not qualifying as a full squad for the 2025 NCAA Championships, Villanova men had seniors C.J. Sullivan and Charlie Moore represent the team at nationals. The men’s team finished third at both the 2025 Big East Cross Country Championships and the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. At the Big East meet, senior Bailey Habler and junior Charlie Moore placed in the top 10. All five Villanova scoring runners earned recognition at the awards ceremony for the eighth consecutive year in 2025. At the national meet, Charlie Moore placed 120th overall.

Women's program builds on returning talent and freshman promise

Villanova women's cross country, led by head coach Gina Procaccio, returns its full 2025 NCAA championship-scoring lineup. The team looks to freshmen Zoe Mosher and Maeve Smith, who showed promise at last year's national meet, to elevate the program after a 25th-place finish at NCAAs. Gina Procaccio is excited about their development. Zoe Mosher and Maeve Smith were two freshmen who ran in the national meet last year, and they look like they put in the work, Procaccio said. I’m excited to see what level they are at this year. On the conference stage, senior Tilly O’Conner placed second out of 96 runners at the 2025 Big East Cross Country Championships.

Across the national landscape, other programs are also positioning for the 2026 campaign. NC State's top 7 runners from the 2025 NCAA championship team are returning, and BYU has returned what is described as arguably the most talented U.S.-born distance runner in NCAA history for her sophomore campaign. NC State and BYU have won every NCAA women's cross country championship since 2019. The last time the LaVern Gibson course hosted the NCAA women's meet was seven years ago, when Arkansas beat BYU by 6 points for the title.

Key returning athletes from other top teams include a deep field. The table below lists notable individual placements from the 2025 NCAA Championships.

Iowa State returns NCAA 10K champion Mercyline Kirwa and has added transfer Rosemary Longisa, the reigning NCAA 1500m champion who finished 27th at NCAAs, under new coach Laura Harmon. Oregon finished third at NCAAs last year but lost Şilan Ayyıldız, Anika Thompson, and Mia Barnett. Alabama lost Doris Lemngole, described as a low-stick legend, but Brenda Tuwei returns after missing last fall. Northern Arizona's Carmen Cernjul has a 5K time of 15:06. West Virginia's Joy Naukot has third and fifth-place finishes in the NCAA 10K to her name. The season begins for Villanova on September 18 at Haverford.