It’s been a long year. We get it. It feels like it’s been years since the season abruptly ended in March, but it also feels like yesterday in some ways. It’s hard to believe the 2021 season is less than a month away, but with more team schedules being released every day, it certainly seems we’ll have some college gymnastics to follow this winter. The idea of playing fantasy gymnastics amidst all this uncertainty might be strange, but for many of us it’ll be a welcome distraction.
While we don’t yet know if the main fantasy site will be operating this season, we’ve also published a guide to creating a private league where you can set your own rules for this unusual season. We’ve also provided a dataset for returning gymnasts in case you want to create your own draft. But if you don’t have the time (or energy) to make your own draft, we’re here to help.
These drafts are largely data-based, but we took some liberties based on training updates we’ve observed during the preseason and injuries that might have occurred. Since these are meant to be used as a starting point, we’ve included more than 200 gymnasts in each one (with the exception of the freshmen only draft) in case you want to remove anyone you think is too risky to draft. We’ve also included notes about injury history or other relevant information that may impact a gymnast’s lineup-making potential; it’s a good idea to watch social media or intrasquads to keep an eye on these gymnasts prior to the draft deadline or when you hold your private league draft! These notes will also be updated as new injury information becomes available. Any gymnasts who are confirmed to be out for the season or who have suffered major injuries during the preseason are excluded from the drafts. We’ve also included the conference and year for each gymnast in case you’d like to do a themed draft!
All of the below sample drafts can be viewed at this link.
Consistency Queens
Are you the type of fantasy player who doesn’t want to have to worry about whether or not a gymnast will be in a lineup? Do you value an athlete who can consistently score a 9.825 over someone who is just as likely to get a 9.650 as a 9.900? If so, this is the draft for you!
This draft is largely based on last year’s data for returners, and top freshmen were added in based on consistency in their level 10 or elite performances.
High Risk, High Reward
The first draft was all about being safe, but how about a draft for those of us who like a little more risk? This draft rewards gymnasts who may not be in the lineup every week or who may fall just as many times as they hit, but every time they go up you know there’s a potential for a 9.900-plus score.
Most of the top picks are similar to the first draft, but we took more liberties later on, placing freshmen higher, as well as gymnasts returning from injury. There are some gymnasts who only competed one or two events last year who we think will play larger roles this year, so we accounted for that in this draft as well.
Extra Insurance
Are you worried about not having enough gymnasts on your team in a given week due to conference-wide bye weeks or last-minute cancelations? This draft is for you. We’ve prioritized projected all arounders here, as well as strong two- and three-eventers, so you can have more depth on your team than you would normally need. No single event specialists in sight!
Freshmen Only
One of the keys to success in fantasy gymnastics is to correctly predict which freshmen are going to be instant stars, so here is a draft dedicated to all the freshmen. This can be used to create a freshman-only team, or it can be woven into an existing draft of returning gymnasts if you’re struggling to analyze newcomers. This draft is less data-based than the others, using a mix of lineup probability and scoring potential.
READ THIS NEXT: A Guide to Playing Your Own Fantasy Gymnastics Game This Season
Article by Jenna King
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