Burrell Named Head Coach of Texas A&M Track & Field
Jun 28, 2026 | Track and Field
COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M Director of Athletics Trev Alberts announced the hiring of Leroy Burrell as the 20th head coach of the Texas A&M track & field program. Burrell spent the last four years as the head coach of Auburn where he led the Tigers to four top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships.
"We are excited to welcome Leroy and his family to Aggieland," Alberts said. "He is an outstanding leader that has achieved championship-level success everywhere he has been. He has developed elite athletes that have won on both the national and international stages. An Olympic gold medalist and national champion himself, he has a strong understanding of what it takes to compete at the highest level. We are confident he will continue to build on the great success and tradition of our track & field program."
"Coach Leroy Burrell is exactly the kind of complete leader this program needs at this pivotal moment," Assistant Athletics Director and Sport Administrator Jonathan Wallace said. "His extraordinary accomplishments as both an athlete and coach, combined with his strong alignment with Texas A&M's core values, made him stand out more and more throughout this search process. We're thrilled to welcome Coach Burrell back to the state of Texas - this time to Aggieland - where I'm confident he will work tirelessly to lead our track & field program to even greater championship success in the years ahead."
Burrell joins the Aggies after securing NCAA team trophies in three-straight years with Auburn, after a second-place national finish outdoors in 2024, third indoors and fourth outdoors in 2025 and fourth indoors in 2026. Under his guidance the men's program delivered its best national indoor finish since 2003 and best outdoor national finish since 2008. He helped his athletes rewrite the record book during his final season on The Plains, as they broke a pair of NCAA records at the outdoor championships and downed one and tied another at the indoor national meet.
He joined Auburn following a decorated 23 seasons at his alma mater, Houston, where he claimed a staggering 44 conference titles with 31 coming on the men's side and 13 on the women's. Along with his conference titles, Burrell saw success on the national stage securing seven top-10 results at NCAA Championship events with three of those squads placing top five. He was recognized for his coaching dominance during his time in Houston, as he was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Central Region Coach of the Year on three occasions, while also earning 23 Conference USA Coach of the Year nods and 11 American Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
In his career, Burrell has coached 19 national champions, helped earn 266 All-America honors and delivered 376 conference champions. He carries plenty of momentum into his move to Aggieland following a successful 2026 campaign with Auburn. His athletes won four individual national titles, six conference titles and garnered 31 All-America honors, while also breaking the collegiate record in the 4x100m and both the NCAA and world record the 110m hurdles.
His coaching has helped six athletes land in contention for the most prestigious individual award in NCAA track & field, The Bowerman, including two this season. Ja'Kobe Tharp took the nation and world by storm this year, sweeping the short hurdle NCAA and SEC titles. He broke the indoor collegiate 60m hurdles record at the national meet with a time of 7.32, which landed him third in world history. Outdoors he made a statement in the 110m hurdles NCAA semifinals breaking the world and NCAA record with a time of 12.75 and went on to win the final in 12.90. Kanyinsola Ajayi also made the semifinalist list after he won the indoor 60m crown tying the collegiate record of 6.45 and claimed the 100m title in a wind-aided mark of 9.72.
Helping his athletes reach the pinnacle of the sport, he has produced 19 Olympians during his career with 15 coming from his time in Houston and four in Auburn. He has had an athlete compete in seven-straight Summer Games from 2000-2024, as well as two athletes that participated in the 2018 Winter Games.
As an athlete, Burrell made a name for himself as one of the world's premier sprinters. Throughout his career he broke world records across the 60m, 100m, 4x100m and 4x200m. He captured the title of 'World's Fastest Man' after downing the 100m record for the first time in June 1991 with a time of 9.90. Three years later he recaptured the title after clocking 9.85, where he held that title for two years.
He delivered on the international stage for the United States, claiming a plethora of medals for his nation. He earned Olympic gold as a part of the 4x100m relay at the 1992 Games in Barcelona and placed fifth individually in the 100m. Burrell also collected a pair of World Championship titles in the 4x100m relay and a silver in the 100m. During his collegiate career he earned three NCAA titles, winning one 100m crown at the outdoor championships with a collegiate-record time of 9.94 and back-to-back indoor long jump titles in 1989 and 1990.
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, visit 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
"We are excited to welcome Leroy and his family to Aggieland," Alberts said. "He is an outstanding leader that has achieved championship-level success everywhere he has been. He has developed elite athletes that have won on both the national and international stages. An Olympic gold medalist and national champion himself, he has a strong understanding of what it takes to compete at the highest level. We are confident he will continue to build on the great success and tradition of our track & field program."
"Coach Leroy Burrell is exactly the kind of complete leader this program needs at this pivotal moment," Assistant Athletics Director and Sport Administrator Jonathan Wallace said. "His extraordinary accomplishments as both an athlete and coach, combined with his strong alignment with Texas A&M's core values, made him stand out more and more throughout this search process. We're thrilled to welcome Coach Burrell back to the state of Texas - this time to Aggieland - where I'm confident he will work tirelessly to lead our track & field program to even greater championship success in the years ahead."
Burrell joins the Aggies after securing NCAA team trophies in three-straight years with Auburn, after a second-place national finish outdoors in 2024, third indoors and fourth outdoors in 2025 and fourth indoors in 2026. Under his guidance the men's program delivered its best national indoor finish since 2003 and best outdoor national finish since 2008. He helped his athletes rewrite the record book during his final season on The Plains, as they broke a pair of NCAA records at the outdoor championships and downed one and tied another at the indoor national meet.
He joined Auburn following a decorated 23 seasons at his alma mater, Houston, where he claimed a staggering 44 conference titles with 31 coming on the men's side and 13 on the women's. Along with his conference titles, Burrell saw success on the national stage securing seven top-10 results at NCAA Championship events with three of those squads placing top five. He was recognized for his coaching dominance during his time in Houston, as he was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Central Region Coach of the Year on three occasions, while also earning 23 Conference USA Coach of the Year nods and 11 American Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
In his career, Burrell has coached 19 national champions, helped earn 266 All-America honors and delivered 376 conference champions. He carries plenty of momentum into his move to Aggieland following a successful 2026 campaign with Auburn. His athletes won four individual national titles, six conference titles and garnered 31 All-America honors, while also breaking the collegiate record in the 4x100m and both the NCAA and world record the 110m hurdles.
His coaching has helped six athletes land in contention for the most prestigious individual award in NCAA track & field, The Bowerman, including two this season. Ja'Kobe Tharp took the nation and world by storm this year, sweeping the short hurdle NCAA and SEC titles. He broke the indoor collegiate 60m hurdles record at the national meet with a time of 7.32, which landed him third in world history. Outdoors he made a statement in the 110m hurdles NCAA semifinals breaking the world and NCAA record with a time of 12.75 and went on to win the final in 12.90. Kanyinsola Ajayi also made the semifinalist list after he won the indoor 60m crown tying the collegiate record of 6.45 and claimed the 100m title in a wind-aided mark of 9.72.
Helping his athletes reach the pinnacle of the sport, he has produced 19 Olympians during his career with 15 coming from his time in Houston and four in Auburn. He has had an athlete compete in seven-straight Summer Games from 2000-2024, as well as two athletes that participated in the 2018 Winter Games.
As an athlete, Burrell made a name for himself as one of the world's premier sprinters. Throughout his career he broke world records across the 60m, 100m, 4x100m and 4x200m. He captured the title of 'World's Fastest Man' after downing the 100m record for the first time in June 1991 with a time of 9.90. Three years later he recaptured the title after clocking 9.85, where he held that title for two years.
He delivered on the international stage for the United States, claiming a plethora of medals for his nation. He earned Olympic gold as a part of the 4x100m relay at the 1992 Games in Barcelona and placed fifth individually in the 100m. Burrell also collected a pair of World Championship titles in the 4x100m relay and a silver in the 100m. During his collegiate career he earned three NCAA titles, winning one 100m crown at the outdoor championships with a collegiate-record time of 9.94 and back-to-back indoor long jump titles in 1989 and 1990.
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, visit 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
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