In high school, Hocker won several high-level competitions including the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 2018.

[4] In September 2024, it was announced that Hocker signed with Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track league for the 2025 season, in the short distance (800 m/1500 m) category.

[5] Hocker grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and began running competitively at a young age, recording a time of 4:36 for the mile as an eighth grader.

[9] Earlier that year, he ran a personal best of 3:50.55 in the mile on February 12, 2021, finishing in a close second to teammate Cooper Teare at a meet at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

[10] At the 2020 United States Olympic Trials, Hocker won the 1500 m final ahead of Matthew Centrowitz and Yared Nuguse.

[15] Two weeks later at Gately Park in Chicago, in a bid for the American indoor mile record of 3:49.98, Teare and Hocker ran personal bests of 3:50.17 and 3:50.35 to place first and second.

[23] In the race, Hocker finished sixth in a personal best of 3:48.08,[24] the fourth fastest time ever run by an American in the mile.

In the same month, Hocker won a national title in the 1500 m at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, setting a meeting record in 3:37.51.

[27] In March, he won a silver medal for the United States in the 1500 m at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, his first finish on the podium at a global competition.

[28] In May, Hocker achieved the Olympic qualifying standard in the 5000 m by running a personal best of 12:58.82 at the Los Angeles Grand Prix.

[35][36] Hocker's victory gave the United States their first gold medal in the event since 2016, when Matthew Centrowitz Jr. won at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Fisher set a new world indoor record of 7:22.91, while Hocker secured the second fastest time at the distance with a personal best of 7:23.14.