EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Cross Country/Track & Field Head Coach Mike Hillyard announced the Screaming Eagles' incoming women's recruiting class for the 2026-27 season.
 
This year's class includes graduate transfer Sierra Parks as well as incoming freshmen Ellie Bush, Maddie Graber, Arden Jensen, Mayci Moore, Kara Odum, Mackenzie Pound, and Mallory Watt.
 
"On paper, this recruiting class is easily the best group of student athletes that we have assembled in program history," Hillyard said. "Most importantly, they are the right people for our program. We expect several of them to be very impactful right away."
 
Sierra Parks transfers to the Screaming Eagles after spending the previous four seasons at the University of Colorado. Parks competed in two meets for the Buffaloes in 2025, posting top-30 finishes at the Wyoming Invite and the Gig Leadbetter Maverick Stampede.
 
On the track, Parks competed in the 1,500 meters, the 3,000 meters, the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters during her time with CU. She posted a personal-best of second in the 10,000 meters at the 2025 Dr. Dan Caprioglio Early Bird in Pueblo, Colorado, and brings personal-best times to USI in the 1,500 meters (4:36.84) and the 6k (21:27.4).
 
Parks, who is a native of Broomfield, Colorado, spent her prep career at Niwot High School in Niwot, Colorado, where she was an All-State honoree and a member of the No. 1-ranked high school cross country team in the nation in 2021. She earned a degree neuroscience at CU before transferring to USI.
 
Ellie Bush is a graduate of O'Fallon High School in O'Fallon, Illinois, where she was a four-time state-qualifier on the cross country course. She finished 16th at the 2024 IHSA Class 3A Cross Country Championships and 44th at the 2025 IHSAA Class 3A Cross Country Championships.
 
During the 2025 cross country season, Bush earned first-place finishes at the Southwestern Conference Championships and the IHSA Class 3A Belleville Regional.
 
On the track, Bush posted personal-best times of 2:16.84 in the 800 meters and 5:09.00 in the 1,600 meters as a junior in 2025. She carded a personal-best time of 11:01.07 in the 3,200 meters as a freshman in 2023.
 
Maddie Graber comes to USI from Southridge High School in Huntingburg, Indiana, where she was a three-time state-qualifier on the grass. Her most recent trip to the IHSAA Cross Country Championships came during her senior year in 2025 and resulted in an 18th-place finish as well as a personal-best 5k time of 18:02.2.
 
On the track, Graber was a two-time state-qualifier in the 3,200 meters. She finished 18th at the 2026 IHSAA Track & Field Championships and 24th as a junior in 2025. She collected a personal-best time of 11:08.43 in the 3,200 meters at the 2026 state meet.
 
Arden Jensen is a graduate of Flowery Branch High School in Flowery Branch, Georgia, where she was a three-time state-qualifier on the cross country course. She recorded a 23rd-place finish at the Georgia High School Association Class 4A Championships as a senior in 2025 after a 50th-place finish in 2024.
 
On the track, Jensen qualified for the GHSA Class 4A & 2A State Championships in the 800 meters, 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters during her junior season in 2025. She finished 11th in the 800 meters, 12th in the 1,600 meters and 15th in the 3,200 meters.
 
Jensen finished 14th in the 800 meters as a junior at the GHSA Class 5A State Championships in 2024. She brings personal-best times to USI in the 400 meters (1:03.46), the 800 meters (2:21.63), the 1,600 meters (5:12.57), the mile (5:32.97) and the 3,200 meters (11:29.02).
 
Mayci Moore comes to USI from Webster County High School in Dixon, Kentucky, where she was a five-time state-qualifier on the grass. She earned a seventh-place finish as a senior at the 2025 KHSAA Class 2A Cross Country Championships after posting finishes respective finishes of 11th and 15th at the 2023 and 2024 state meets.
 
On the track, Moore qualified for the KHSAA Class 2A Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 3,200 meters five times and the 1,600 meters three times during her prep career. She was second in the 3,200 meters in 2025 and third in 2026 and had a combined six top-eight finishes in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters during her trips to the state championships.
 
Moore also posted three podium finishes at the KHSAA Class 2A Indoor Championships during her prep career, including a second-place finish in the 3,200 meters and third-place showing in the 1,600 meters at the 2026 indoor meet. She brings personal-best times to USI in the mile (5:00.44), the two-mile (10:57.35) and the 3,200 meters (10:58.79).
 
Kara Odum is a graduate of Marion High School in Marion, Illinois, where she was a four-time state-qualifier for the IHSA Class 2A Cross Country Championships. Odum collected 37th-place finishes at the state meet in 2024 and 2025.
 
On the track, Odum finished 15th in the 3,200 meters at the 2026 IHSA Class 2A Championships. She won back-to-back conference titles in the 3,200 meters and earned a second-place finish at the 2026 South Seven Conference meet in the 1,600 meters.
 
Odum brings a personal-best 3,200-meter time of 11:10.67 to USI.
 
Mackenzie Pound comes to USI from Unity High School in Tolono, Illinois, where qualified for the IHSA Class A Cross Country Championships four times. Pound collected 19th-place finishes at the 2024 and 2025 state meets after finishing 11th as a freshman in 2022 and 10th in 2023.
 
On the track, Pound competed in three different events (800 meters, 4x400-meter relay and 4x800-meter relay) at the IHSA 2A Championships as a senior in 2026. She helped lead UHS to a state title in the 4x800-meter relay as a junior in 2025 and finished her career as a combined nine-time state-qualifier.
 
Pound brings personal-best times to USI in the 800 meters (2:17.70), the three-mile (XC) (17:31.97) and the 5k (18:16.88).
 
Mallory Watt rounds out the Screaming Eagles' recruiting class after graduating from Princeton Community High School in Princeton, Indiana, where she was a four-time state-qualifier on the grass. Watt most recently raced to a 14th-place finish at the IHSAA Championships during her senior season in 2025, posting a personal-best 5k time of 17:56.0.
 
On the track, Watt was a four-time state-qualifier on the track, including three times in the 1,600 meters and once in the 4x800-meter relay. Watt comes to USI with personal-best times in the 800 meters (2:19.47), the 1,600 meters (5:02.66) and the 3,200 meters (11:07.89).