Every man on this list set at least one collegiate record in 2018. That was the minimum standard to break into FloTrack’s list of the top five male NCAA athletes of the year.

5. Josh Kerr (New Mexico)

With a surprising loss in the NCAA 1500m final, Josh Kerr didn’t have the storybook ending to his electrifying collegiate career that most expected, but the New Mexico junior was otherwise spectacular in 2018. Kerr won his third consecutive individual NCAA title on the track with his mile victory in College Station, doing so despite struggling in the DMR the night before with stomach issues. A month later, Kerr returned to the site of his stunning 3:35.99 1500m at Bryan Clay from 2017 with one goal: breaking Sydney Maree’s 37-year-old 3:35.30 collegiate record.

And that’s exactly what he did.

Kerr’s 3:35.01 run on April 20 in Azusa, California, ensured that the Scot -- who, just over a year prior, went from a mostly unknown to a superstar overnight with his unbelievable defeat of Edward Cheserek in the 2017 NCAA mile -- would have a place among the greatest middle distance runners in collegiate history. 

4. Michael Saruni (UTEP)

Save for a sloppily-run NCAA 800m outdoor final that saw him get kicked down in the final 50m, UTEP sophomore Michael Saruni had a sparkling 2018 season both indoor and outdoor. The Kenyan was super fit from the beginning of the indoor campaign -- he ran a 600m world best (1:14.79) on Jan. 20 -- and then exorcised his NCAA demons from his freshman year by dominating the NCAA indoor final in 1:45.15, the second-fastest time in collegiate history.

Saruni wasn’t done slicing up the record books once outdoor arrived, either. On April 28 in Tucson, Arizona, Saruni broke Donavan Brazier’s short-lived outdoor collegiate record with his scintillating 1:43.25, a mark that stood as the world lead for nearly three months in 2018.

?NCAA RECORD?
Michael Saruni 1:43.25pic.twitter.com/g2kN1AKlpS

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) April 29, 2018

3. Grant Holloway (Florida)

The Florida hurdler, sprinter and jumper is Mr. Do-It-All for the Gators, and his versatile skill set and joyful personality makes Grant Holloway the most fun athlete in NCAA track and field. Holloway is a point machine -- he contributed over half of Florida’s total at NCAA indoor in 2018 --  and he’s the lone man on this list who elected not to go pro early after 2018. Holloway will once again thrill us from January to June in 2019 as he leads one of the top programs in the country. 

Part of the reason Holloway decided to return to Florida -- which he detailed at length here -- is his desire to break the incredibly steep 110m hurdles collegiate record of 13.00. The sophomore accomplished everything but in the hurdles in 2018, as he set the 60m hurdles collegiate record of 7.42 (beating the former record holder and Olympic champion Omar McLeod while doing it) before moving himself up to second all-time in the 110mH with his 13.15 at SEC outdoor. And for the second straight year, he won 60mH and 110mH titles at indoor and outdoor NCAAs.

Holloway still has plenty of work to do to eclipse Renaldo Nehemiah’s 13-flat, something only 11 Americans have done, but an eye-popping 2018 has him moving solidly in the right direction.

2. Rai Benjamin (USC)

47.02. Rai Benjamin secured a spot here with that NCAA performance alone, a magnificent display at the national championships that tied the then 20-year-old with Edwin Moses, the most accomplished 400m hurdler of all time, as third-fastest ever. 

Rai Benjamin is a BEAST pic.twitter.com/SZ38tvV4Bh

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 9, 2018

Benjamin’s jaw-dropper at Hayward Field put the collegiate record in an entirely new stratosphere; formerly held by Olympic champion Kerron Clement at 47.56, the USC junior essentially erased it from memory. That capped a dream season for the transfer from UCLA, who lowered his 400mH PR by 1.31 seconds in 2018 while also holding his own as USC’s second-best leg on the indoor and outdoor collegiate record 4x400m squads. In fact, Benjamin ran the fastest split for the Trojans -- 44.35 -- on their 3:00.77 at indoor nationals that should count as the world record. 

1. Michael Norman (USC)

With a slew of iconic moments -- including four collegiate records and an indoor 400m world record -- 2018 Bowerman winner Michael Norman was unquestionably the top male athlete in NCAA track and field this year. The sophomore redefined greatness in the indoor 400m by scorching a 44.52 world record in College Station at nationals, and then one-upped himself with a 43.61 outdoor collegiate record in the rain at Hayward. Norman may only be 21 years old, but his 2018 season showed that he’s well on his way to becoming an all-time great in the quarter.

Of course, the USC star did a whole lot more than just dominate the 400m. His lightning quick anchor splits -- along with those of teammate and fellow Bowerman nominee Rai Benjamin -- helped the Trojans demolish both the indoor (3:00.77) and outdoor (2:59.00) 4x400m collegiate records, with that electric run indoors setting what should have counted as a world record. Even so, Norman’s most memorable relay leg came not in a championship final, but in the NCAA West prelim in Sacramento. There he blitzed a 43.06 anchor, the second-fastest split in world history.