Nigerian high jumper Temitope Adeshina has missed out on a place among the three finalists for The Bowerman after collegiate track and field’s highest individual honour unveiled its women’s finalists for the 2026 season on Monday.
Adeshina, who represents Texas Tech, was among the 10 semifinalists announced last week following an outstanding campaign but was omitted from the final shortlist.
Instead, Georgia’s Adaejah Hodge and Dejanea Oakley, alongside Nebraska’s Axelina Johansson, were named as the three finalists by The Bowerman Advisory Board.
Although she fell short of the final three, Adeshina enjoyed one of the finest seasons by a Nigerian collegiate athlete.
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The 22-year-old completed an unbeaten collegiate campaign in the high jump, sweeping both the NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor titles.
She successfully defended her NCAA indoor crown with a season-best clearance of 1.97m, equalling the fifth-best mark in collegiate indoor history, before adding the outdoor title with a leap of 1.96m to finish the season tied for the world-leading height.
Her remarkable performances earned her a place among The Bowerman semifinalists, becoming the first Nigerian woman to reach that stage since Blessing Okagbare progressed all the way to the final in 2010.
Adeshina was also looking to become only the second Nigerian woman to make The Bowerman final after Okagbare, and the fourth Nigerian overall after Okagbare (2010), Divine Oduduru (2019) and Ezekiel Nathaniel, who became a finalist last year.
Hodge secured her place among the finalists after producing one of the greatest sprint seasons in NCAA history. The Georgia freshman broke the collegiate records in both the women’s 100m (10.63s) and 200m (21.68s), won the NCAA outdoor 200m title and the NCAA indoor 200m crown, while finishing runner-up in the outdoor 100m.
Johansson was rewarded after completing an undefeated season in the shot put. The Nebraska thrower claimed both the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles, tied or improved the collegiate indoor record four times and narrowly missed the outdoor collegiate record with a throw of 19.97m.
Oakley completed the trio after a dominant campaign over 400m. The Georgia sprinter shattered the collegiate record with 48.79s to win the NCAA outdoor title, having earlier claimed the NCAA indoor championship and remained unbeaten in head-to-head 400m races throughout the season.
The three finalists combined for six NCAA titles, four collegiate records and 22 all-time top-10 performances during the 2026 indoor and outdoor seasons.
Fan voting for The Bowerman opens on Tuesday, June 30, and closes on Thursday, July 2, while the winner will be announced on December 17 during the USTFCCCA Convention in Grapevine, Texas.
Despite missing out on the final, Adeshina’s outstanding collegiate campaign further underlines her emergence as one of Nigeria’s brightest athletics prospects ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, where she has been named in Team Nigeria’s squad for Glasgow.
