Koech switched his international eligibility to Bahrain in September 2013. In the 2014 season he competed extensively on the track and field circuit. He was runner-up to Jacob Araptany at the Golden Grand Prix in Japan, then had a season's best of 8:19.99 minutes in Bydgoszcz, which ultimately placed him in the top-25 in the year's world lists, as well as second in the world junior category lists. On the 2014 IAAF Diamond League circuit he was tenth at the Athletissima meeting and 13th at the Herculis meeting. As the second highest ranked Asian runner, after Abubaker Ali Kamal of Qatar (another Kenyan emigrant), he was selected to represent the region at the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup, where he placed fifth.