It’s NCAA gymnastics season, and the leotards are as sparkly as ever. With new designs come your favorite series: Leotard Rankings! Each week we’re analyzing leotard debuts to find our weekly faves. And while there are only a handful to judge this week, the ones that did debut are stunners.
There will be up to three points for design, up to one point each for fabric and sparkle, school spirit and uniqueness, and up to three points for overall appearance. This week Allison, Carolyn and Christina are joining editor in chief Elizabeth to help judge. Have more thoughts about a particular design or our ranking? Let us know in the comments or on social media!
And don’t forget to vote in the poll at the end of the article each week. We’ll be tabulating all the votes to find the overall fan favorite design at the conclusion of the 2022 season!
Finally, looking for the new designs from Brown, Penn, Texas Woman’s, West Chester and Yale from this weekend? We’re holding onto them and judging all the USAG teams at once after the national championship in April.
Towson: 7.575
See this leo on Instagram.
Elizabeth: 8.100
Design 2.5/3, Fabric 0.7/1, Sparkle 0.8/1, School Spirit 0.8/1, Uniqueness 0.8/1, Overall Appearance 2.5/3
I think this is my favorite Towson leo of all time, and it has a couple of good ones. It’s just such a clean design that incorporates some of my favorite elements. I love the use of black and white on the base, plus the gold piping around the shoulders. Add in ombre on the sleeves, and I’m sold.
Allison: 8.800
Design 2.7/3, Fabric .9/1, Sparkle .9/1, School Spirit .9/1, Uniqueness .7/1, Overall Appearance 2.7/3
This leo is incredible to me. I always think Towson can’t keep topping its designs, but it does. I love the gold lines, the sparkle accents and the Towson down the sleeve. The gold really makes it all pop so well.
Carolyn: 5.400
Design 2.0/3, Fabric 0.4/1, Sparkle 0.2/1, School Spirit 0.4/1, Uniqueness 0.5/1, Overall Appearance 1.9/3
Cute, but not my fave. I feel like we’ve seen this leo before, but I can’t remember when? I would maybe change the type of the sparkle? The one they used looks a bit chunky, and I feel like a better one could be used. However, I DO like the gold stripes that drape over the shoulders and top of the leo, so at least there’s that.
Christina: 8.000
Design 2.6/3, Fabric 0.7/1, Sparkle 0.5/1, School Spirit 0.8/1, Uniqueness 0.7/1, Overall Appearance 2.7/3
This is such a lovely leo. I love the color scheme with the black bodice, the white upper body, the golden piping on the shoulders and the slightly ombré sleeves that turn into yellow at the cuffs. Yes, please! Very elegant look overall.
Oklahoma: 7.100
See a video of this leo on Twitter, and see the front and back pics here.
Elizabeth: 7.400
Design 2.0/3, Fabric 0.7/1, Sparkle 0.7/1, School Spirit 0.9/1, Uniqueness 0.9/1, Overall Appearance 2.2/3
I’m a little torn here. The design looks great on TV, but I really don’t like the pink details when I see it in a still image. I can’t deny that those rhinestones make it really pop in motion though.
Allison: 4.900
Design 1/3, Fabric .5/1, Sparkle .9/1, School Spirit .6/1, Uniqueness .9/1, Overall Appearance 1/3
There’s A LOT going on here for me. Everytime I look I find something new, but I’m not sure if I’m a fan or not. I do love that the rhinestones are different colors and not just all burgundy or all white/silver. Love the sleeves, though, and the rhinestones there.
Carolyn: 8.300
Design 3/3, Fabric 0.7/1, Sparkle 1/1, School Spirit 0.6/1, Uniqueness 0.5/1, Overall Appearance 2.5/3
LOVE IT! BEAUTIFUL! I need this in dress/jumper form, so I can wear it to events that I care about going to. The lines part of this leo reminds me of the one that WCC wore to the US Classic (and I loved that one too).
Christina: 7.800
Design 2.2/3, Fabric 0.6/1, Sparkle 0.8/1, School Spirit 1/1, Uniqueness 0.8/1, Overall Appearance 2.4/3
This looked way better in motion. Like Elizabeth, I am not a fan of the pink details now that I see them. But this leo is tremendous on TV and in motion, so I’ll let that slide.
Sacramento State: 6.675
Elizabeth: 8.300
Design 2.4/3, Fabric 0.9/1, Sparkle 0.9/1, School Spirit 0.6/1, Uniqueness 0.8/1, Overall Appearance 2.7/3
This design hasn’t failed me yet. I love it, which is a little surprising because belly button hole designs normally aren’t my thing. But the green here is just so lovely, and I love it paired with black and the white ombre sleeves.
Allison: 8.200
Design 2.6/3, Fabric .9/1, Sparkle .8/1, School Spirit .5/1, Uniqueness .8/1, Overall Appearance 2.6/3
More green leos, please. I love the neckline and the accents throughout, including the line between the green and black. It’s perfectly sparkly without being over the top and the ombre seals it together so perfectly.
Carolyn: 3.300
Design 1.5/3, Fabric 0.3/1, Sparkle 0.4/1, School Spirit 0.2/1, Uniqueness 0.2/1, Overall Appearance 0.7/3
Hmm, a GK catalog leo. I mean it certainly doesn’t look bad, but I think it needs something extra to make it POP. At first I thought “Ooh! Cute new William & Mary leo!” But then I realized this is a Sac State leo. So in order to establish its uniqueness and school spirit even more, it needs a little extra something. Maybe they could put that in the keyhole on the front or have something spelled out on the back?
Christina: 6.900
Design 2.2/3, Fabric 0.8/1, Sparkle 0.5/1, School Spirit 0.3/1, Uniqueness 0.6/1, Overall Appearance 2.5/3
This design is lovely and works well with those colors. Overall, the color combination here is great, and I am of course obsessed with the ombre sleeves. I wish for a little more school spirit with a logo or mascot somewhere, as this look could totally apply to a handful of other teams who have the same colors.
BYU: 5.425
See another view of the design here.
Elizabeth: 5.800
Design 1.5/3, Fabric 0.7/1, Sparkle 0.6/1, School Spirit 0.5/1, Uniqueness 0.7/1, Overall Appearance 1.8/3
While I am obsessed with the color, I’m not freaking out over the design. It’s fine, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nothing special either. I can’t get enough of the color, though, and it looked fantastic on TV.
Allison: 5.300
Design 1/3, Fabric 0.8/1, Sparkle .9/1, School Spirit .4/1, Uniqueness .7/1, Overall Appearance 1.5/3
I don’t dislike this leo, but I’m also not totally in love. I really like the design it was going for, but I could’ve used a little something more throughout or a little more pop of sparkle on the sleeves.
Carolyn: 5.500
Design 2.3/3, Fabric 0.4/1, Sparkle 0.6/1, School Spirit 0.3/1, Uniqueness 0.4/1, Overall Appearance 1.5/3
This is so unlike BYU! I like the leo itself, but I’m not sure why they decided to create this for their collection as their other leos are darker than this one. Is this the new look they are debuting in 2022? If so, I’d like a little more school spirit added to the leo since that sparkly Y on the hip is a bit hard to see.
Christina: 5.100
Design 1.2/3, Fabric 0.6/1, Sparkle 0.5/1, School Spirit 0.4/1, Uniqueness 0.6/1, Overall Appearance 1.8/3
This reminded me of Kentucky for some reason with this color scheme and design. I really love this shade of blue, but I am not a fan of the upper bodice. It seems unfinished or a bit too rushed. In theory, the idea was there but the execution is lacking.
Utah State: 3.950
See another view of the design here.
Elizabeth: 2.900
Design 0.4/3, Fabric 0.2/1, Sparkle 0.2/1, School Spirit 0.7/1, Uniqueness 0.7/1, Overall Appearance 0.7/3
Utah State’s new leos the past couple of years have been…something. I sort of like the retro vibe of the faux fishnet design on the sides, but the overall look just looks more like trying to be fancy than actual fancy.
Allison: 7.200
Design 2/3, Fabric 0.9/1, Sparkle 0.6/1, School Spirit 0.8/1, Uniqueness 0.9/1, Overall Appearance 2/3
Feeling a little lonely here, but I loved this. I love the logo, and I love the design down the sides that flow onto the back. The stones and sparkle on the neckline are perfect. It’s simple and elegant.
Carolyn: 3.200
Design 0.3/3, Fabric 0.5/1, Sparkle 0.3/1, School Spirit 0.3/1, Uniqueness 0.9/1, Overall Appearance 0.9/3
Ummmm what? Are those supposed to be angel wings on the back? What are those polka dots? Why does the mascot have such large horns? I have so many questions.
Christina: 2.500
Design 0.2/3, Fabric 0.2/1, Sparkle 0.2/1, School Spirit 0.8/1, Uniqueness 0.7/1, Overall Appearance 0.4/3
Oh, no. There is too much happening. The design is way too random for my taste, with the school’s mascot on the chest, the side wings with polka dots/faux fishnets and shiny rainbow edges.
Fan Poll
Vote in the week one fan poll HERE!
READ THIS NEXT: Leotards Throughout NCAA History
Article by Elizabeth Grimsley, Allison Freeman, Carolyn Lien and Christina Marmet
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