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NCAA women’s gymnastics season preview: Athletes, teams and storylines to watch

NCAA women’s gymnastics season preview: Athletes, teams and storylines to watch

Welcome back to NCAA women’s gymnastics. Last we left off in April, Oklahoma, led by all-around champion Jordan Bowers, won its seventh national championship in 11 years. UCLA made its return to the final four with a second-place finish, and Missouri went on a Cinderella run for a program-best third-place, just nudging out Utah in fourth. A new year brings a whole new set of questions, and with half of the top 10 all-arounders at last year’s national championships having graduated, the door is o

NCAA women’s gymnastics season preview: Athletes, teams and storylines to watchWelcome back to NCAA women’s gymnastics.

Last we left off in April, Oklahoma, led by all-around champion Jordan Bowers, won its seventh national championship in 11 years. UCLA made its return to the final four with a second-place finish, and Missouri went on a Cinderella run for a program-best third-place, just nudging out Utah in fourth.

A new year brings a whole new set of questions, and with half of the top 10 all-arounders at last year’s national championships having graduated, the door is open for a new group of leaders.

How will this year’s national team standouts adapt to NCAA? Will Oklahoma continue its dynasty? Who can set the record for most music cuts in a floor routine? And who will notch the season’s first perfect 10?

The season officially began Jan. 2, but most teams take the floor for their first meet this weekend, where all eyes will be on Saturday’s matchup between top-ranked Oklahoma, UCLA, Utah and LSU.

Here are the athletes, teams and storylines to watch.

Returning stars to watch

Faith Torrez, Oklahoma

Class: Senior

Hometown: Bristol, Wis.

With her third-place all-around finish, Torrez enters the 2026 season as the highest-ranking all-arounder still competing in the NCAA. Her stuck vault helped lead Oklahoma to the championship, she posted three perfect 10s on floor last year and she won the beam title in 2024.

Kailin Chio, LSU

Class: Sophomore

Hometown: Henderson, Nev.

What was so impressive about Chio’s 2025 performance was not just that she won the vault title and tied for sixth in the all-around, but that she did it all as a freshman. She only performed bars at LSU’s intrasquad meet on Friday because of a “minor ankle sprain,” according to coach Jay Clark, but all eyes will be on what she’ll do with a full year of NCAA experience under her belt.

Jordan Chiles, UCLA

Class: Senior

Hometown: Houston

Chiles, the two-time Olympian, remains the most well-known name in college gymnastics. She has picked up three NCAA titles in her career so far — two on bars and one on floor — and medaled in two Olympics and one World Championship. Already known for her creative floor routines, she enters her final NCAA season fresh off a third-place finish on “Dancing with the Stars.” All signs point to another standout season from Chiles, who won every event and the all-around with no scores below 9.9 in UCLA’s season opener, led by an impressive 9.975 on beam.

Selena Harris-Miranda, Florida

Class: Senior

Hometown: Las Vegas

Harris-Miranda is also poised for all-around dominance in 2026. She has posted perfect 10s on vault, bars and beam, which means she is just one 10 on floor away from a GymSlam. Her current floor career high? 9.975. Expect Harris-Miranda to contribute all over Florida’s roster in 2026.

Joscelyn Roberson, Arkansas

Class: Sophomore

Hometown: Texarkana, Texas

The Olympic alternate enters her sophomore year at Arkansas with new hardware after winning a vault bronze at world championships in October. Still on the hunt for her first 10, Roberson posted a season high 9.975 on floor last year. Arkansas fans will be looking to see what she can do in her second year on a team hoping to crack the top 10 with more regularity.

Kayla DiCello, Florida

Class: Junior

Hometown: Boyds, Md.

The world medalist and Olympic alternate notched two perfect 10s on bars and regularly competed in the all-around for Florida in her freshman season in 2023. But DiCello hasn’t competed for Florida since then, injuring her Achilles while making a run for the 2024 U.S. Olympic team. All eyes will be on what DiCello’s comeback will mean for Florida, which hasn’t won a championship since 2015.

Freshmen to watch

Mackenzie Estep, Oklahoma

Hometown: Auburn, Wash.

Estep, the top-rated recruit of her class, won the all-around at the Nastia Liukin Cup in February. Expectations are high at Oklahoma, and Estep could contribute quickly.

Ana Bărbosu, Stanford

Hometown: Odobești, Romania

A key member of Romania’s recent rise back to the Olympic and world stage, Ana Bărbosu enters the NCAA as the reigning European floor champion and Olympic floor bronze medalist, receiving the medal after Chiles was stripped of hers following a Romanian appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A strong all-arounder, the intrigue is in how her international experience translates to college, particularly on floor.

Tiana Sumanasekera, UCLA

Hometown: Pleasanton, Calif.

A 2024 Olympic alternate, Sumanasekera is coming off a Pan American Championships team win. Known for her strong beam and self-choreographed floor routines, Sumanasekera is primed for success at a school notable for strong dance and high floor scores. She’s already gotten off to an impressive start, notching a 9.95 in her first college beam routine.

Teams to watch

Oklahoma

Oklahoma needs one more championship to pass UCLA and gain sole possession of third place in the all-time rankings. Oklahoma returns Torrez and other all-arounders like Addison Fatta and Lily Pederson, plus a strong freshman class. If the Sooners win the championship, it would be the third time in program history they went back-to-back.

UCLA

Many teams have impressive freshman classes, but few teams are bringing in as many known names on the national stage as UCLA. Along with Sumanasekera, the Bruins have Ashlee Sullivan and Nola Matthews, both of whom have competed for the U.S. internationally in recent years. Other questions for the Bruins: Will beam specialist Ciena Alipio add bars or even floor in her senior year? And can UCLA continue upgrading on vault?

Missouri

The Tigers are coming off a program-best third-place finish in 2025. Last year was only the second time Missouri even cracked the top 10, having finished fifth in 2022. The question is whether the Tigers can keep up that momentum, especially having graduated 2025 beam champion Helen Hu. Early season signs are pointing in a positive direction for Missouri, with a strong first meet led by a 9.925 from Hannah Horton on floor.

Utah

Utah has made 49 straight national championships, and is a regular in the final four — but it hasn’t won the title since 1995. The Red Rocks will be looking for more in 2026, after a few low scores at the championship dropped them into fourth behind Missouri. Expect senior Makenna Smith, sophomore Avery Neff and junior Ella Zirbes — who won the all-around in Utah’s season opener — to take the lead this year.

LSU

The Tigers finished the 2025 regular season ranked first before an early knockout in the regional round. Having won its first championship in 2024, LSU is looking to secure its status as a school always in the national conversation — and a longer playoff run in 2026. Alongside Chio, expect big contributions from former national champion Konnor McClain and floor standout Amari Drayton.

Michigan State

Michigan State also posted a school-best performance in 2025, finishing in sixth and, like Missouri, cracking the top 10 for the second time ever. Can Michigan State take things even further in 2026? The Spartans are returning key members of last year’s squad in Nikki Smith and Sage Kellerman, while bringing on a freshman class that includes Romanian Olympian Lilia Cosman.

Florida

Like LSU, the Gators will also be looking for a deeper playoff run after landing in seventh last year, and they have a deep roster to work with. Alongside Harris-Miranda is Anya Pilgrim, who is especially worth watching on bars. Skye Blakely only competed bars last year, but will she add more events coming off her 2025 worlds appearance? How will Cal transfer eMjae Frazier and DiCello factor into the roster?

California

Cal went on a historic run in 2024, finishing a program-best second after years of building up its program. But the Bears have since graduated crucial members of that team, lost their head coaches to Clemson and seen a few other athletes transfer. This year’s question will be how Cal will respond to adversity, especially with British standout Ondine Achampong out with a partial ACL tear. A 196 for Cal’s first meet was encouraging — can the Bears build from there?

Clemson

Clemson debuted its gymnastics team in 2024. In April, the Tigers fired former head coach Amy Smith for cause after just two seasons, after reviews of the program’s “culture and environment,” according to the Greenville News. Smith has denied the allegations. Clemson has since hired Justin Howell and Liz Crandall-Howell, the husband-and-wife duo that brought Cal to a program-best second place in 2024. That project is more likely measured in years, but the Tigers are surely looking for an improvement on last year’s 29th-place finish.

Five meets to watch

New this year, the NCAA changed how it will calculate national qualifying scores, which qualify and seed teams for the national championship. The old formula only took into account six meets from the season, while the new model factors in a minimum of nine meets.

The rule changes get pretty complicated from there, but in short, they mean that each meet will matter more, and that teams can’t rely on late-season high scores to offset early-season competitions or one-off poor performances, especially when competing at home.

Here are five meets to watch as the season gets underway:

Jan. 10: Oklahoma, UCLA, Utah, LSU in the Sprous Quad, 4 p.m. ET (ABC)

Saturday’s early-season meet features three of the top four finishers from the 2025 season, and all four of these teams could make the final this year. And at 8 p.m. ET, a second session of Michigan State, Cal, Kentucky and Michigan will compete — all schools hoping to be in the mix in the top 15.

Jan. 25: UCLA at Michigan State, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)

UCLA’s 2024 addition to the Big 10 has created a burgeoning rivalry between these two schools that makes for entertaining gymnastics, particularly on floor. This will be a good chance to see if Michigan State can keep up its momentum in 2026.

Feb. 6: Florida at Missouri, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Last we saw these two teams, No. 7 Missouri knocked out No. 3 Florida for a place in the national championship — so this rematch should be entertaining. Florida’s roster is expected to be deep this year, while Missouri will be looking to prove its third-place finish in 2025 wasn’t a fluke.

Feb. 20: LSU at Oklahoma, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Last year, LSU just snuck by Oklahoma for the top seed in the postseason. These two teams will be eyeing the top, and a head-to-head meet in the middle of the season should be interesting.

March 6: Kentucky at Alabama, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Kentucky and Alabama are two teams that have spent the past few seasons lingering on the cusp of the top 10, and very much could be fighting each other come March for better positioning in the postseason. Alabama finished eighth last year to Kentucky’s 10th.

Postseason dates

Conference championships (March 21)

Regionals (April 1-5)

Nationals (April 16, 18)

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Clemson Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Michigan State Spartans, California Golden Bears, Stanford Cardinal, UCLA Bruins, Utah Utes, Florida Gators, Missouri Tigers, Arkansas Razorbacks, LSU Tigers, Clemson Tigers, Michigan State Spartans, Oklahoma Sooners, Utah Utes, California Golden Bears, UCLA Bruins, Stanford Cardinal, LSU Tigers, Florida Gators, Arkansas Razorbacks, Missouri Tigers, Utah Utes, Missouri Tigers, Florida Gators, Michigan State Spartans, Clemson Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Stanford Cardinal, UCLA Bruins, California Golden Bears, Arkansas Razorbacks, LSU Lady Tigers, Olympics, College Sports, Women's College Sports, Women's Olympics

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