Lindimore, a sophomore defender on Georgetown’s men’s soccer team, found his way to the Hilltop the second semester of his freshman year, after playing his first college season at Indiana University. For Lindimore, the decision was about finding a permanent community for his college experience.
“I really wanted a place I would be at for four years,” he told the Voice.
Transfer athletes like Lindimore are not new to college sports, though they have garnered more attention following a 2024 change to NCAA transfer eligibility rules. Now, athletes can transfer freely without sitting out a year, regardless of how many times they have transferred previously. This rule has made transferring much more common, providing all student-athletes the opportunity to search for a new community if their current school isn’t a good fit.
Much of the focus on transfer athletes is the impacts that the new rules have had on top-tier basketball and football rosters, but for most athletes, the decision to transfer and the subsequent process is much more personal. Transfer athletes practice, play, and build chemistry with their team while also adjusting to a new campus, city, and academic environment.
Olivia Williams, a sophomore cross country and track and field athlete, transferred this year from the University of Pennsylvania. In an interview with the Voice, Williams said the team has made an effort to help her feel connected to both the team and the larger D.C. community.
“We try to incorporate lots of things into our runs,” Williams said. “At the beginning of the year, we did a run to the monuments because when I came on my visit in May, I really only saw campus and didn’t really see any of the other cool parts of D.C.”
Georgetown baseball head coach Edwin Thompson views the arrival of transfer players and the ensuing transition period as just another part of the college sports season.
“Any time you bring people into an organization, there is a period of how everything blends in,” he said in an interview with the Voice.
For Thompson’s team, the fall season is a time to get to know each other off the field, welcome new players, and build chemistry beyond baseball.
Thompson likes to “[keep] it very simple, very organic,” as the team gets to know each other. The Hoyas attended a Washington Nationals game together and held a cookout so that coaches and returning players alike could, as Thompson said, “get to know [new transfers], what they like, what they do.”
Not only is welcoming players important, but Liam Connor (CAS ’27), a junior on the men’s lacrosse team who transferred to Georgetown this fall from Colgate University, stressed that recruiting plays a role in creating a community. Coaches focus not only on bringing in players that will fit in athletically, but also will mesh well with the team’s personalities.
“[Coach] tries to recruit very similar people,” Connor said in an interview with the Voice. “The coaches made it really easy for me to come in.”
Thompson also mentioned the challenges of bringing on new players. Sometimes the dynamic works out immediately for the team, and sometimes the chemistry takes the entire year to develop.
“Every year it’s different, every team is different,” he said.
While athletes find friendships within their team, they also find community within athletics and at Georgetown as a whole. Williams noted that Georgetown’s circle of athletes, in general, is very welcoming.
“You walk around with the athlete backpack or parka and just start a conversation,” she said.
Despite the support available, transferring schools has its own challenges—ones that are not necessarily unique to athletes. Lindimore described feeling pressure to get the decision right on his second try as he looked for a community that would be a good fit for the next three and a half years. Coming to Georgetown, Lindimore had many of the same anxieties as any transfer student, focusing on finding a place he would be happy, mesh with the new team, and find a home on campus.
When asked about his biggest challenges when transferring, Lindimore said, “The anticipation of going to a new school, not really knowing anybody, kinda restarting your life in a way.”
So much of the attention on transfer athletes today centers on the star players, often in basketball or football, who stay with a team for just a year before seeking opportunities elsewhere. However, the vast majority of transfer athletes look for the same things as any other transfer student: a community.
While there are certainly challenges for players as they start over in a new city, at a new school, and on a new team, the change often brings a level of contentment to their decision.
“I’m so glad I did transfer. It is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life,” Lindimore said. “Everything kind of really worked out for me.”
Connor echoed Lindimore’s sentiment. “Every time I look back at my decision, I am just so thankful that I was given the opportunity to play here,” he said.
Williams also expressed no regret with her decision, offering advice for other potential transfer athletes.
“If you aren’t having a great experience, college is not long at all, and it’s supposed to be fun,” Williams said. “If transferring is something you’ve thought about more than once, then just do it, and you won’t regret it.”
