Our final watchlist calls out those that are poised to have breakout seasons in 2024. Who has flown under the radar in their first season or two? Who has been seen making big gains over the offseason? Who has gotten a new lease on their gymnastics life with a transfer or injury recovery?
Jenna Mulligan, Michigan
Newly minted scholarship gymnast Mulligan was heavily featured in the Wolverines’ preseason training and competed vault, beam, and floor in the team’s preview quad exhibition this month. Her 9.925 on beam was good enough to tie for third. All signs point to a big year for the senior.
Amari Evans, Utah State
Before her Achilles injury last season, Evans was a solid two-event gymnast that was replicating her success from her freshman season. Preseason training shows she’s back to form and looking to have a successful comeback for the Aggies.
Amelia Knight, Illinois
The Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch list is usually a good indication of which gymnasts have impressed their head coaches during the preseason. Illini senior Knight was highlighted and has been featured consistently in Illinois’ social media updates throughout the fall; she’s upgraded her bar dismount to a nice double layout. The Brit looks set to have a big year.
Bella Salcedo, Penn State
Speaking of the Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch, Salcedo was also featured. She showed signs of greatness last year but was a little inconsistent. If she has improved on that front, she will be a very powerful force for the Nittany Lions.
Faith Torrez, Oklahoma
Torrez made a few appearances in the all-around early in her freshman campaign in 2023 before primarily moving to just beam and floor in the second half of the season. Now, with a season under her belt, she projects to be more of an integral part of all the Sooners’ lineups and give Oklahoma another dangerous four-event threat.
Malia Hargrove, Arizona
Undoubtedly the leader of the Wildcats the last few seasons, Hargrove began to establish herself on people’s radars after her 9.975 on vault. Inconsistency on bars has held her back from challenging the nation’s top all-arounders thus far, but with an NQS of 9.9 or better on the other three events, Hargrove only has one event to refine.
Amelie Morgan, Utah
In Salt Lake City, Morgan’s name is synonymous with dependability. The fearless leadoff of new head coach Carly Dockendorf’s juggernaut beam lineup as well as a stalwart on bars, the only real remaining question about this Olympian’s NCAA development is whether she could add leg events, and this could well be the year; Utah coaches are very enthusiastic about her Yurchenko one and a half on vault, and she showed a strong floor routine at an intrasquad last month.
Katie Finnegan, Georgia
Finnegan has quietly found her way to the core of Georgia’s bar lineup with consistency and tidy form, but she’s poised to expand her repertoire this year. This offseason, her Yurchenko full, always respectable but not outstanding in power or extension, has transformed into a clean and consistent one and a half that could be one of the Gymdogs’ best vaults.
Jalene Jachna, Missouri
It’s normal for a proportion of relatively unheralded recruits to never make a college lineup in their freshman year, and often we never get clear answers about whether injury or lineup competitiveness is the culprit. Only those fans with a keen memory for recruiting will have anticipated the beautiful, clean front handspring pike half vault that sophomore Jachna debuted at Missouri’s intrasquad. Nevertheless, that vault is absolutely the real deal, and so is her floor routine.
Sage Thompson, Oregon State
Thompson might turn out to be one of the great winners of the active 2023 offseason transfer market. In her debut as a Beaver, she showed a full all-around set and looked truly lovely on beam. Oregon State has an awful lot of uses for a gymnast like her.
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Article by Emily Minehart, Brandis Heffner, and Rebecca Scally
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