Last November, Sidi Njie posted on Instagram a series of images of his visit to the University of Florida with the caption: “I’m making my momma and my uncle proud #LLJ GO GATORS.”
He made sure to declare the following, too: “#NOTCOMMITTED.”
Nearly 10 months later, Njie remains uncommitted. T
The Atlanta Westlake High School (GA) senior hasn’t visited any other schools, either, but that will soon change after he returns from the World U20 Championships in Peru, where Njie will compete in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
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Njie is MileSplit’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025 and plans on taking trips to Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Texas over the next several weeks. While he recently announced those five programs and Florida as his top six schools, Njie isn’t ruling out signing with another school.
“My recruitment is still open,” Njie said in an interview last week. “Those are my top six, but I am looking into other colleges. They're not, I would say, set in stone. I feel like I need to give everybody a chance equally.”
“Honestly, this is one of the biggest races. But if I just go out there and run how I’ve been running, I’ll be great.”
Those words are likely to resonate with college coaches, many of whom have had Njie on their radar since before they could officially reach out to him last summer entering his junior year.
As a freshman in 2022, Njie won the Georgia Class 6A title in the 400m (46.41) and finished second in the 200m (21.01), which were U.S. No. 11 and U.S. No. 22 performances, respectively. They were also the fastest times nationally in the freshmen class.
As a sophom*ore in 2023, Njie again was first in the 400m (45.46) and second in the 200m (20.82) at the state meet, but this time it was in the Class 7A classification. Those were U.S. No. 3 and tied for U.S. No. 19 times, respectively, and U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 among sophom*ores.
This year Njie was even better, winning the 200m (20.80) and finishing second in the 400m (45.37) in the 400m at the state meet. In June, he won the 400m (45.62) at the U.Sl U20 Championships, prevailing in a loaded field that included Arizona State’s Jayden Davis and Class of 2024 star Ervin Pearson III, who is entering his freshman year at the University of Georgia.
The victory also clinched for Njie a berth in the World U20 Championships in Lima, where the Georgia native should have a shot at winning a medal in the 400m -- he has the fourth-fastest season’s best time in the field -- and the 4x400m relay.
The heats and semifinals for the 400m are Wednesday, while the final is on Thursday. The heats for the 4x400m relay is Friday, while the final is the meet’s final event on Saturday night.
“Honestly, this is one of the biggest races,” Njie said. “But if I just go out there and run how I’ve been running, I’ll be great.”
This year, Njie will not play basketball, a sport he played his first three years at Westlake. That will allow him to train more and compete during the indoor season.
He is eyeing some major indoor meets, including The VA Showcase, Millrose Games and Nike Nationals, although his schedule isn’t yet set on where he’ll compete.
Njie is also gearing up for a busy time visiting colleges, starting with Texas in early September. While he visited Florida last year, he still has good memories of the trip, including meeting with head coach Mike Holloway, who has won 14 NCAA titles (12 men’s and two women’s) with the Gators, including the past three national men’s outdoor championships.
“It was a great visit,” Njie said. “Coach Holloway is a great coach. I really respect him. He taught me a lot of things I did not know.”
As he navigates the recruiting process, Njie has spoken with a few people, including Kennedy Simon, a 2018 Westlake graduate who ran at Texas, where she was one of the best 400m runners in the country, and Malik Mixon, a Class of 2022 top recruit who grew up near Njie and ran the past two years at USC before recently transferring to Ohio State.
Njie says he also talks with Westlake coaches Jason Cage and Steven Watson, who have helped him develop since his freshman year.
“They’re always in there cooking up something,” Njie said. “I PR every year. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
This time of year, Njie is usually playing basketball and getting ready for the season.
But now that his plan has changed, his focus is clear. He’s been working on getting off to a faster start off the blocks but then saving himself for the backstretch, where he feels he can improve.
He still has one year of high school remaining and then college. Still, he is looking ahead to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, too.
“That’s my main goal,” Njie said. “I'll only be 21 when going to my first Olympics Games, but I'm shooting for the stars. I'm excited. I'm just going to keep doing what I got to do, stay focused on the course and get ready.”
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