Following Texas track and field’s successful season last year, winning multiple Big 12 championships, two NCAA runners-up finishes and a men’s indoor national championship, the program naturally received interest from potential transfers this offseason.

Sophomore Jackson Braddock, senior Marcellus Moore and graduate student Lanae-Tava Thomas are among those who’ve recently transferred to Texas. Since they’ve arrived, all have been welcomed with open arms by their teammates, and the chance to build on Texas track and field’s recent success has them excited to compete this year.

Braddock transferred over the summer from Virginia to pursue a program that could offer him the best opportunity to better himself in practice. Texas soon easily became the spotlight of Braddock’s search. 

“I wanted to be part of a really elite program and have a really elite group of guys to train with,” Braddock said. “It was a pretty clear-cut choice because I wanted to be a part of one of the most competitive programs in the country, and this is probably the most competitive one.”

Similarly, Moore needed a place to push him to do his absolute best. Moore transferred from Purdue, where he played both football as a wide receiver and ran track. 

Moore felt that his progression in both sports hit a snag, and his desire for growth wasn’t being met in West Lafayette, Ind. He then found himself in the transfer portal looking for a place to get him back on pace, and Texas instantly set the bar.

“Once I came down and took my visit, I really had a good feeling this could be my home,” Moore said. “Everyone on the team, they treated me like family from the minute I came on my visit.”

Moore transferred in January and has already reaped the rewards of training in the Texas environment. He helped contribute to the Longhorns capturing the 2022 men’s indoor track national championship and sweeping the 2022 Big 12 indoor and outdoor titles. He also formed quick bonds with his teammates who assimilated him into Texas’ culture, being another reason Moore chose Texas.

“I just saw the culture that we had, it’s not like any other place,” Moore said. “This is a place where it’s expected that you’re striving for a national championship. It’s expected that you’re trying to make it to that next level.”\

That domination on the track and competitive yet welcoming atmosphere heavily influenced Lanae-Tava Thomas’ decision to move to Texas as well. After spending her first four years at USC, Thomas transferred as a graduate student to Texas, a new home where she hopes to thrive. 

“Coming to Texas, I was so happy,” Thomas said. “(Texas) was just that new place I needed. … The environment is so caring and considerate. They actually look out for your well-being.”

Thomas also spoke of her immediate connection with the team as more than just a bond, but rather a family. She said she naturally fit in, and that she didn’t feel like she was new at any point.

“I’ve never felt more accepted and appreciated than I have with this group of people,” Thomas said. “My teammates, I honestly love them all. No malice. Everyone just wants the best for everyone.”

Team camaraderie throughout the program is palpable. As Braddock, Moore and Thomas said, Texas track and field expects and strives for the standard of winning national championships. 

After a dominant season of conference title sweeps, national championship runners-up finishes and national championship winners, Moore believes the men’s and women’s teams are priming up before the season to not only repeat their success, but expand upon it.

“Right now, we’re building a foundation,” Moore said. “I feel like we’re in the trenches together right now. … We set a standard that we want to win national championships, so personally, I feel we got everything we need to do that. … I love everything about what we got going on so far. I think we got a really special team.”