The most anticipated series is back! We looked at the data for each incoming level 10 freshman on each event to see which gymnasts are at the top of their class across the apparatuses and in the all-around. This week we’re looking at the top 10 vaults for 2023.
We ranked every single level 10 gymnast from the class of 2022 by a modified average score. To calculate this, we took scores from the last three level 10 seasons (beginning in November 2019), dropped the single highest score and any scores that are extremely low (like ones that you’d expect from balks or injuries mid-routine — not falls) and averaged the rest. We didn’t include athletes with fewer than six scores on a certain event over the past three years.
The top 10 you’ll see in these lists are the top 10 in the country by modified average, no exceptions. The honorable mentions are a little more subjective: They’re usually athletes who ranked quite high, but they also have something a little special that makes them stand out.
If you’re wondering where elites like Kayla DiCello are, don’t worry! We’ll be reprising our most anticipated elite freshmen series later in the summer.
10. Bryce Wilson, LSU (9.7262 modified average, 10.000 high score)
LSU will have multiple Yurchenko double full options when Wilson joins the Tigers this fall; if she can continue to control the landing, she should join Kiya Johnson and Haleigh Bryant in the back half of the lineup early in her career. Even if the double doesn’t pan out, she also has a very realistic full-twisting option.
9. Karina Muñoz, Iowa (9.7300 modified average, 10.000 high score)
Iowa loses three consistent vaulters from last year’s lineups, so it will look to freshmen to help rebuild. Muñoz has been competing both a Yurchenko one a half and a Yurchenko full throughout her level 10 career, either of which would immediately elevate the Hawkeyes’ vaulting prospects.
8. Zoe Middleton, Ball State (9.7458 modified average, 9.925 high score)
Middleton makes this list due to her consistency: In the last three seasons, her low on vault is a 9.700. While she only competed the event once in 2022, it also earned her a career high of 9.925.
7. Mila Brusch, Denver (9.7578 modified average, 9.925 high score)
Denver will look to its four-athlete freshman class to add needed depth this season, and Brusch’s vault is a great start. Her Yurchenko full is floaty and stickable, so it has high scoring potential despite not starting from a 10.0.
6. Nikki Smith, Michigan State (9.7612 modified average, 10.000 high score)
Michigan State was one of the hottest teams in 2022, finishing a remarkable ninth in the final standings. That upward trend will continue with powerhouse Nikki Smith in the Spartans’ lineups. Her Yurchenko one and a half is high and dynamic yet well-controlled.
5. Anna Roberts, Stanford (9.7671 modified average, 9.950 high score)
Roberts’ one and a half is exceptionally clean in the air; if she can land it consistently in college, she should be a mainstay at the end of the Stanford lineup.
4. Gabrielle Gladieux, Alabama (9.7687 modified average, 9.950 high score)
Recent video of Gladieux’s gymnastics is hard to find, but her Yurchenko full is high and floaty, with great body position throughout. She is also capable of a one and a half, which we hope to see in the Alabama lineup this winter.
3. Taralyn Nguyen, Stanford (9.8237 modified average, 10.000 high score)
Nguyen has been turning heads for years with her powerful vaulting, performing a Yurchenko double twist since 2017. Roberts and Nguyen together will transform the Stanford vault lineup in a positive way.
2. Ava Siegfeldt, Oklahoma (9.8300 modified average, 9.950 high score)
Siegfeldt could be considered an elite as well, but she had enough scores for this calculation so we’re counting her as a level 10 for the purposes of this list. Oklahoma is known for its lineup of clean Yurchenko one and a halves, and with this addition the rich will get richer.
1. Selena Harris, UCLA (9.8547 modified average, 10.000 high score)
It should be no surprise that the top-rated recruit of the class of 2022 finds herself in first place of this list as well. Her Yurchenko one and a half has been worthy of a college lineup since at least 2017, and UCLA will be thrilled to bring another solid 10.0 option into its vault lineup.
Honorable Mentions
Gwen Fink, North Carolina (9.7088 modified average, 9.925 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Nailah Adams, Rutgers (9.7013 modified average, 10.000 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Faith Torrez, Oklahoma (9.6889 modified average, 10.000 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Morgan Price, Fisk (9.6765 modified average, 9.950 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Makenna Smith, Utah (9.6681 modified average, 10.000 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Sage Kellerman, Michigan State (9.6615 modified average, 9.900 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Bridget Bourque, Kentucky (9.6583 modified average, 9.900 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Paige Thaxton, Michigan (9.6472 modified average, 9.875 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Paige Prejean, North Carolina (9.6364 modified average, 9.875 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Payton Harris, Ohio State (9.6329 modified average, 9.950 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Kaya Forbes, North Carolina (9.5554 modified average, 9.900 high score)
Watch her vault here.
Mallory Gregory, Ohio State (9.5091 modified average, 9.975 high score)
Watch her vault here.
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Article by Jenna King
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