Stanford Gets Another Big Recruit In Buford's Trinity Price



Stanford has earned an additional piece to its developing sprint corps in Buford High School's (GA) Trinity Price.

She revealed her decision exclusively on MileSplit's Instagram live in front of friends and family Wednesday evening.

Price is coming off a strong indoor season with US top 10 performances at the 200 meter (No. 8) and 400m (No. 4) distances. The senior is No. 11 on MileSplit Class of 2021 top 50 recruits.

She's also within the top-five fastest returners in the 200m and 400m, with indoor personal bests of 23.99 and 54.34, respectively. In previous outdoor seasons, Price ran 53.76 for 400m to claim her second AAU Club National Championship, won a GHSA state title, and took seventh at Brooks PR.

"I'm happy I made the right decision," Price told MileSplit. "I'm super excited. I think I can use the longer sprinting expertise they have there ... I love the team and the coaches. I feel like they can take me to the professional level which is my end goal."

Beginning next fall, Price will be working with second-year assistant coach Jarius Cooper, formerly of Arkansas State and UConn. In his first year with the program, Cooper coached Ashlan Best to an indoor school record of 52.64 in the 400m. Best went on to receive All-American honors on Stanford's distance medley relay.  

But Price is entering as one of the fastest freshmen in program history.

Her current personal bests would rank within the all-time top 10, indoor and outdoor at Stanford. 


When recruiting Price, Cooper and head coach J.J. Clark stressed how much they want to build a sprints program at Stanford, Price said. 

"They both talked [to me] about how they want to build up their sprints program so Stanford isn't just known for their distance program," she said. "[Coach Cooper] talked me through some workouts that they do, and how he runs the program. It's kind of like there's not much pressure, which is what I really liked about it, but they're still going to put in work."

On her unofficial visit to campus, Price appreciated the lack of smoking mirrors that would usually be present on an official.

It allowed her to evaluate the campus for what it was, versus being blinded by all hype. But Price has had an eye on Stanford since she was in middle school. And seeing what the school could offer her outside of athletics, solidified her choice.

"After visiting a bunch of other schools, I realized that I want to have another aspect to me other than just a great track program," she said. "Some schools have great facilities and it's so much fun, but the degree doesn't compare to what Stanford could give you. That's really what put me over the edge."


Equally attracted to Stanford's academic and athletic opportunities, Price feels that the Cardinal will make her the most prepared for life after sport.  

Stanford is traditionally of the top 10 public universities in the country, with a Political Science department that ties Harvard for No. 1. The nationally recognized department aligns perfectly with the sprinter's current interests, she said, making the school an even better fit.

"I'm plan on majoring in political science because I'm really interested in government, policy making and social activism," Price said. "I'm really passionate about that kind of stuff. And what really attracted me to Stanford was the concentration that you can do in political science, like it was so much stuff. I can minor in African American studies and things like that."

While not running during the outdoor season gave Price more time to focus on her recruiting process, she's chasing sub-23 and sub-53 performances during her senior season.