He might be unsure of where he is transferring to, but one thing is known for sure by first-year Ricky Kwabena Yawson: he will be transferring out of Hamline University come the start of his sophomore year.
Not knowing the success ahead for himself in his collegiate career, Kwabena Yawson came into Hamline ready to play soccer and begin pursuing his academic goals. Kwabena Yawson quickly found fame at Hamline when he was playing soccer, as he starred in 17 out of 20 games, ten of which he was a starter in. Kwabena Yawson proved to be an exceptional player when he scored 13 total goals for his season, four of which were game-winning goals.
As successful as his soccer career was, that is not why the 19 year old is being scouted by Division One colleges and universities. Kwabena Yawson has proven himself time and time again during his extraordinary track & field season.
From his very first track meet during the indoor season, Kwabena Yawson proved to be the one to watch when he broke a 10 year long school record in the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.95. Kwabena Yawson then went on to break his own record another five times, setting the new Hamline record for the Men’s 60 m dash to a time of 6.82. Kwabena Yawson also set the Hamline school record for the 200 meter dash as well as the St. Olaf Tostrud Classic on Feb. 21, 2025, with a time of 22.41. This record broke 27 and 16 year long records set by Todd Veroeven ’01 and Brent Nelson ’10, who both shared the school record in the 200 m dash with a time of 22.52.
Kwabena Yawson’s thriving indoor career led him to travel all the way to Rochester, New York, to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division Three Indoor Championship to participate in the 60 m dash, where he placed 20th overall with a time of 6.90.
After his flourishing indoor career, Kwabena Yawson was notified of several Division One colleges that were interested in recruiting him such as Grand Canyon University (GCU) in Phoenix, Arizona and University of Saint Thomas (UST) in St. Paul, Minnesota, but little did he know that this was only the start of the flood of colleges who would be interested in him.
Kwabena Yawson continued on his road to success during the outdoor track & field season. Kwabena Yawson went on to break two school records in one day at the Bethel Invitational on April 12, 2025. At this meet, he registered a time of 10.62 in the 100 meter dash and a 21.57 in the 200 meter dash, both breaking another two ten year long school records set by Tom Larson ’16 back in 2015. Before the end of the outdoor track & field season Kwabena Yawson broke his own record for the 100 meter dash yet again with a time of 10.48.
“The growth is actually there. And I see Ricky improve a lot from soccer to track because you know he had a decent time in high school, but now he’s running faster than that, which is pretty good for him,” first-year Gus Feika said.
Feika, who is a forward for Hamline’s Men’s Soccer team, has been playing side by side in soccer and track with Kwabena Yawson since they were sophomores together at Rosemount High School.
“He’s just like my brother, you know. We are friends, but we just have that connection, because I’ve known him for so long. And it only seems like he’s my friend no more. Seems like we’re brothers,” Feika said.
This past spring, there had been rumors circulating around campus about the possibility of Kwabena Yawson being scouted by Division One schools and talks of him transferring out of Hamline.
Although he is unsure which university he will potentially transfer to, one thing is for certain for Kwabena Yawson: he will not be returning this fall as a Piper to Hamline University. Kwabena Yawson cited two major reasons as to why he is looking elsewhere to continue his athletic and academic careers. One reason is because of financial reasons and the other is that he has the chance to play college sports at the highest level.
“I just want to explore, you know, how track is. I don’t know, I just want to move from Hamline, cause I just feel like not staying here another year. It’s just not worth it if I stay here,” Kwabena Yawson said.
Hamline did mention the possibilities of scholarships to Kwabena Yawson that he could apply for to address his financial worries, but with big Division One schools luring him with the promise of room and board or a full ride scholarship, Hamline can’t compete. Division Three schools are not allowed to offer students athletic scholarships, but Division One schools are allowed to offer scholarships to their athletes according to the NCAA.
“I wish him nothing but the best. He has a lot of potential. One thing I would say, he just got to get out of his comfort zone and actually do better, that he know he can do better. I feel like he just sticks to, like, one thing. You gotta be able to like open some more things because I can see he has a lot of potential on track and soccer too,” Feika said.
So, with more competitive Division One schools swooping in, Hamline loses the top athletic star they have seen in quite some time.
“But how far I’ve seen him grow in track, so I feel like in a [Division One] level, running with the fastest guys, that would push him to do better than what he’s doing right now. And you gotta keep going,” Feika.