overhead shot of the vault and springboard

Underrated Recruits That Excel on Vault

Our new batch of ratings were released a couple weeks ago with updates to the class of 2024 and first-time ratings for the class of 2025. If you haven’t had a chance to check them out, head to the landing page.

However, because our rating system was based on scores and video review for all four events, gymnasts with only one standout apparatus were often rated lower overall. Of course, teams that are weaker on one event or those that are looking to fill a hole will turn to event specialists to solidify those lineups. Recruits who excel on a single event may not have ratings that reflect how valuable they can be to their teams, so we wanted to highlight them here.

Let’s take a look here at underrated vaulters in the classes of 2024 and 2025.

Class of 2024

Mya Wiley

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

College: California

Vault High Scores: 9.850 (2023), 9.875 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Wiley’s soaring Yurchenko one and a half isn’t always the cleanest in the air, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more consistently (or definitively) stuck vault. 

Mya Gordon

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

College: Illinois

Vault High Scores: 10.000 (2023), 9.600 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Even among non-Yurchenko entry vaults, Gordon’s front handspring pike half stands out thanks to its powerful block and quick twist. 

Eden King

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

College: Illinois

Vault High Scores: 9.900 (2023), 9.625 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: King upgraded to a Yurchenko one and a half in her penultimate club season, and the gamble paid dividends. She won nine event titles in 2023, including the top spot at nationals thanks to a career-high 9.900.  

Nicole Rengifo

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

College: uncommitted

Vault High Scores: 9.900 (2023), 9.700 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Rengifo’s Yurchenko is so ridiculously clean and dynamic. It easily holds its own against more difficult vaults. 

Kennedy Brown

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

College: Illinois

Vault High Scores: 9.900 (2023), 9.650 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Rounding out Illinois’ trio of stellar vaulters in the 2024 recruiting class is Brown, whose Yurchenko one and a half never scored below a 9.600 this season.  

Cady Duplissis

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

College: Michigan State

Vault High Scores: 9.800 (2023), 9.550 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Duplissis’ tidy Yurchenko one and a half is reminiscent of rising Oklahoma junior Kat LeVasseur’s vault. A 10.0 SV vault of this quality is only going to help the Spartans continue their rise up the rankings. 

Riley Jenkins

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

College: Uncommitted

Vault High Scores: 9.775 (2023), 9.800 (2021)

Why She Stands Out: Jenkins has a surprisingly big Yurchenko one and a half, an upgrade from the full she competed last season. She’s had no problem handling the extra half twist either. Her twisting form is as good as ever, and her landings look—if anything—more secure. 

Nyla Aquino

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

College: Temple

Vault High Scores: 9.825 (2023), 9.750 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Tsuk fulls are increasingly rare in NCAA competition; even rarer is seeing one as stick-straight in the air as Aquino’s. She saved her best performance for last, winning second place at 2023 nationals with a career-high 9.825. 

Kyleigh Ghanbari

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Rating: NR

College: Uncommitted

Vault High Scores: 9.850 (2023)

Why She Stands Out: Is there anything more satisfying than a well-executed and perfectly stuck Yurchenko half? Ghanbari, a first-year level 10, proved she was capable of that at regionals this year. Don’t be surprised if she ends up on a top 25 team based on vault alone.

Harmony Haro

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Rating: NR

College: Uncommitted

Vault High Scores: 9.850 (2023), 9.725 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Haro’s Yurchenko half is performed cleanly with a ton of amplitude, the perfect recipe for a high-scoring vault in college. She is also training a promising one and a half.

Class of 2025

Addisyn Hofseth

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vault High Scores: 9.900 (2023), 9.875 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Hofseth earns high marks with her immaculate form on her Yurchenko full. She keeps her legs glued together throughout her vault and shows off an impressive body shape.

Isabella Ciolfi

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vault High Scores: 9.900 (2023), 9.950 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Ciolfi booms on her Yurchenko full with a powerful block. Her amplitude is her biggest strength, as an upgrade to a one and a half seems probable before she even reaches the NCAA.

Isabelle Futch

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vault High Scores: 9.825 (2023), 9.700 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Futch brings the difficulty, already competing a Yurchenko one and a half at times this past season while also excelling with a full. More experience will only bode well for Futch and her 10.0 start value.

Merideth Brandt

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vault High Scores: 9.775 (2023), 9.800 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Brandt dialed in on the landing of her Yurchenko one and a half at DP nationals to earn herself a silver medal on the event and notch her highest score of the season. Her consistency also paid dividends, as she placed no lower than second from the Massachusetts state championships through the end of the season.

Sage Curtis

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vault High Scores: 9.800 (2023), 9.800 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Curtis qualified to nationals as a vault specialist on the strength of her Yurchenko full but opted to debut the one and a half in competition and earned a 9.675 for her efforts.

Summer Gronski

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Rating: NR

Vault High Scores: 9.850 (2023), 9.800 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Gronski’s scores on vault have been extremely consistent over the last two seasons, with 9.500 being her lowest score. Her high of 9.850 came from a floaty and stuck Yurchenko full in February 2023, and she was also named the Region 1 vault champion this year.

Hailee Bowen

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Rating: NR

Vault High Scores: 9.850 (2023), 9.750 (2022)

Why She Stands Out: Bowen still has two years before college, but she’s already performing a Yurchenko one and a half that most teams would love to have in their lineups. Did we mention she’s also training a double?

READ THIS NEXT: Recruits With Unique Skills to Get Excited About


Article by Claire Billman, Brandis Heffner, and Jenna King

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