Every year the Nastia Liukin Cup keeps getting better! Tune in this Sunday, Feb. 25 for its 14th edition. It will be a high-caliber competition, including 12 gymnasts boasting career highs over 39 points, and nine sporting career-high perfect 10.0s.
The Record Holders
Seven gymnasts qualified with scores over 39 points: Avery Neff (39.500), Nina Ballou and Jahzara Swaby-Ranger (39.125), Kamila Pawlak (39.075), Mackenzie Estep and Addie Sarisky (39.050), and Rylee Guevara (39.000).
Overall, 12 gymnasts—more than half of the senior field—boast career highs over 39 points: Lily Pederson (39.775), Neff (39.625), Sophia Diaz, Estep, and Pawlak (39.225), Elle Mueller (39.200), Ballou (39.150), Swaby-Ranger (39.125), Kelsey Slade (39.100), Elizabeth Leary (39.075), Sarisky (39.050), and Guevara (39.000).
Seven seniors and two juniors boast perfect 10.0s. In the senior field, Allison Cucci, Zoe Johnson, Neff, Pawlak, Pederson, and Slade were all perfect on vault, while Pederson and Sarisky were perfect on bars. In the junior field, Linton boasts three consecutive perfect 10.0s on vault—more than anyone else on the same event—while Emerson Gaa holds the only perfect score on floor. Pederson is the sole gymnast to have perfect scores on multiple events.
The numbers in the senior field are quite similar to last year, when 14 gymnasts boasted all-around scores over 39 points and seven athletes had scored perfect 10.0s. While last year no junior had yet been perfect, this year two athletes have already scored 10.0s.
Previously at the Cup
Eight of the 22 senior qualifiers competed at the Cup before. For Estep, Neff, and Pawlak, this will be their fourth appearance. Ballou competed at two other Cups, while Zoe Johnson, Swaby-Ranger, Pederson, and Gabby Van Freyen each competed at one. Three of them are previous medalists. Neff is the defending co-champion, as well as the 2022 bronze medalist, and the 2021 junior silver medalist. Pawlak is the 2022 junior champion, and Van Freyen is the 2021 junior bronze medalist.
Five of the 2022 junior qualifiers were previously at the Cup. Imani White competed at the Cup twice, while Camryn Shepard, Ariana Frechette, Julia Nehmer, and Ella Fine were there once before, all in 2023. White is also the 2023 junior co-silver medalist.
Numbers are quite similar to last year, when 10 seniors and three juniors qualified to a previous Nastia Liukin Cup.
A curious fact is that in 2022 both Cucci and Slade qualified to their first NLC but couldn’t attend—Cucci because of a foot injury and Slade because of a snow storm.
NCAA Outlook
The NLC rules have changed this year and have raised the senior age from 16 to 17. As a result, except for Sarisky, who’s in the class of 2026, everyone else is a 2024 or 2025 recruit, meaning that they are already committed to college.
While last year the team with the highest number of qualifiers had three and the year before two, this year Oklahoma leads the field with a record number of six commits: Mueller, Pederson, and Slade in the class of 2024, and Estep, Murphy, and Pawlak in the class of 2025.
Behind the Sooners, four teams boast two qualifiers: Arkansas with Cucci and Avery King, Michigan with Diaz and Swaby-Ranger, Ohio State with Guevara and JJ Coleman, and Utah with Zoe Johnson and Neff. Every other team has one: Georgia with Autumn Reingold, Kentucky with Van Freyen, LSU with Ballou, Michigan with Diaz, Missouri with Lisa Szeibert, Penn State with Leary, San Jose State with Madison Gustitus, and Utah State with Lundyn Vandertoolen.
Through CGN’s Recruit Rating Lens
Twenty of the 22 senior qualifiers are rated gymnasts. Ballou, Cucci, Diaz, Estep, Zoe Johnson, King, Neff, Pawlak, Pederson, and Slade are five-star recruits. Coleman, Guevara, Leary, Mueller, Murphy, Swaby-Ranger, Szeibert, Vandertoolen, and Van Freyen are four-star recruits. Finally, Gustitus is a three-star recruit.
Interestingly, the No. 1 and No. 2 recruits in both classes of 2024 (Neff and Pederson) and 2025 (Pawlak and Estep) will face off against each other at the Cup. The No. 4 recruit in the class of 2024 (Slade) will also be at the Cup, as well as the No. 4 and No. 5 recruits in the class of 2025 (Ballou and Cucci).
The Junior Field
Given the rule change that raised the junior age to 16, the junior field is more experienced than in past years. While last year no junior gymnast boasted perfect 10.0s, this year two gymnasts (Linton and Gaa) have already been perfect.
While last year only White boasted a career-high all-around score in the high 38s, this year a few gymnasts have hit that mark. Caylee Cain and White boast scores of 38.900, and Keria Cameron, Jordyn Johnson, and Amia Pugh-Banks have each gotten a 38.825.
Lastly, a few gymnasts have scored in the 9.9s. White has a career high of 9.925 on vault and a 9.900 on both bars and beam. Linton has a career best of 9.950 on floor on top of her 10.0s on vault, as does Jordyn Johnson. Pugh-Banks, Cameron, and Cain have scored a 9.900 on vault, and Frechette a 9.900 on beam.
Ella Kate Parker may not yet boast big all-around scores because she started competing level 10 so recently, but she has years of elite experience under her belt.
Who Will Win the Junior Title?
As ever, the junior competition is very open. A few gymnasts will have an edge, but it will come down to who has more experience and more ice in their veins on the day of the Cup.
With career highs of 9.9 or better on three events, and the fourth event not far behind, White seems to be the favorite to win the title. A tendency towards inconsistency, however, may prevent her from winning the competition. Cain, who boasts White’s same all-around career high of 38.900, has improved drastically from last year and has looked quite consistent this year. She still has to prove that she’s able to repeat her 38.900 performance but the potential is certainly there.
Jordyn Johnson also has the potential to win the title. She can struggle with both nerves and bars, but if she can manage both, she may be one of the favorites. Similarly, Pugh-Banks has impressive career highs on all events, but will have to hit all events at the same meet to have a chance at the title.
Cameron, moreover, has been coming into her own recently. If she can keep calm on beam and floor, she may come up on top.
Behind the top five, you should keep an eye on Frechette. She is one of the most consistent gymnasts competing at the Cup and her potential to score in the 9.9s on beam, traditionally the lowest-scoring event in level 10, may give her an edge.
Finally, you don’t want to miss the chance to watch Linton. Her struggle on bars and inconsistency on beam may keep her off the podium, but she will bring down the house on vault and floor. If she hits on all events, she may also bring home some hardware.
Who Will Win the Senior Title?
There are so many talented gymnasts at this year’s senior Cup that it’s extremely difficult to predict a winner. Although on a good day half the field could easily lift the trophy, two gymnasts seem to have an edge: Neff and Pawlak, the top recruits in the classes of 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Neff, the defending champion, always hits when it counts and has medaled at every edition of the NLC she’s attended. Her ability to deliver under pressure is unmatched and her experience will no doubt help her. This year, however, she’s proved she’s human—she’s struggled slightly on bars and hasn’t hit 9.9 on any event yet. At the NLC historically she hasn’t scored as well as she does at other competitions.
Pawlak has been nothing short of exceptional all season, scoring over 39 points in three of the four meets she’s competed at this year. She’s struggled a bit on vault, but her scores suffered only slightly. One more competition like that and the title could be hers.
Behind the top two, a number of other gymnasts have the chance to top the podium or at the very least to medal: Pederson, Estep, Ballou, Cucci, Diaz, Swaby-Ranger, Slade, and Mueller.
Pederson is the qualifier with the highest all-around career high, the only athlete with perfect 10.0s on multiple events. On top of that, she has elite experience that will help her on a podium and in a televised competition like the NLC. She’s had a solid season so far, but hasn’t competed in the all around as much as the others, and is yet to hit a 39. This could very well be a clever pacing technique, so we’ll see if it works out.
Cucci has been on a roll, scoring her first ever 10.0 on vault in the first meet of the season, a 9.950 on beam in the second meet, and flirting with that magical 39 twice. She’s been having some trouble finding her floor landings, but if she can hit them, she could pull a major upset.
Estep’s been on the rise these past few weeks after an exceptional season last year. She’s yet to have a perfect meet and hasn’t scored in the 9.9s on any event, but if she keeps going and stays in her bubble, who knows what she can do.
Slade doesn’t have a Yurchenko one and a half to rely on, but she’s been great all season. Ballou’s competed in the all around only once this year and qualified straight to the NLC. If she can repeat that performance, the title may be hers. Swaby-Ranger is truly coming into her own this year. If she can put together a complete performance, she could make the podium. Diaz has scored in the 9.9s on vault, bars, and floor this season. If she can have a great performance on all four events at the Cup, she could shock the field and win gold. Mueller is returning to level 10 competition after years of competing elite. She’s looking great and her elite experience may help her.
Junior Qualifiers
|
Name |
Class |
AA Career High |
Perfect 10.0s |
|
Paige Alexander |
2026 |
38.575 |
– |
|
Camila Betancourt |
2027 |
38.050 |
– |
|
Caylee Cain |
2028 |
38.900 |
– |
|
Keria Cameron |
2029 |
38.825 |
– |
|
Olivia Choi |
2026 |
38.450 |
– |
|
Maxine Cometa |
2028 |
36.775 |
– |
|
Ella Fine |
2026 |
38.350 |
– |
|
Ariana Frechette |
2026 |
38.675 |
– |
|
Emerson Gaa |
2026 |
38.025 |
Floor (1) |
|
Jordyn Johnson |
2026 |
38.825 |
– |
|
Raeya Linton |
2026 |
38.400 |
Vault (3) |
|
Gabbie Mitchell |
2027 |
38.625 |
– |
|
Julia Nehmer |
2027 |
38.375 |
– |
|
Ella Kate Parker |
2026 |
38.175 |
– |
|
Amia Pugh-Banks |
2029 |
38.825 |
– |
|
Morgan Reihl |
2026 |
38.250 |
– |
|
Quinlyn Rollins |
2029 |
37.700 |
– |
|
Camryn Shepard |
2027 |
38.300 |
– |
|
Madison Snyder |
2026 |
38.025 |
– |
|
Kylie Smith |
2029 |
38.525 |
– |
|
Sutton Strasser |
2026 |
38.525 |
– |
|
Imani White |
2026 |
38.900 |
– |
Senior Qualifiers
|
Name |
Class |
College |
Rating |
AA Career High |
Perfect 10.0s |
|
Nina Ballou |
2025 |
LSU |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.150 |
– |
|
JJ Coleman |
2024 |
Ohio State |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
38.825 |
– |
|
Allison Cucci |
2025 |
Arkansas |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
38.975 |
Vault (1) |
|
Sophia Diaz |
2025 |
Michigan |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.225 |
– |
|
Mackenzie Estep |
2025 |
Oklahoma |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.225 |
– |
|
Rylee Guevara |
2024 |
Ohio State |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.000 |
– |
|
Madison Gustitus |
2024 |
San Jose State |
⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
38.650 |
– |
|
Zoe Johnson |
2024 |
Utah |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
38.800 |
Vault (1) |
|
Avery King |
2025 |
Arkansas |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
38.525 |
– |
|
Elizabeth Leary |
2024 |
Penn State |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.075 |
– |
|
Elle Mueller |
2024 |
Oklahoma |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.200 |
– |
|
Ella Murphy |
2025 |
Oklahoma |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
38.825 |
– |
|
Avery Neff |
2024 |
Utah |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.625 |
Vault (2) |
|
Kamila Pawlak |
2025 |
Oklahoma |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.225 |
Vault (1) |
|
Lily Pederson |
2024 |
Oklahoma |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.775 |
Vault (1) and bars (2) |
|
Autumn Reingold |
2025 |
Georgia |
NR |
38.675 |
– |
|
Addie Sarisky |
2026 |
N/A |
N/A |
39.050 |
Bars (1) |
|
Kelsey Slade |
2024 |
Oklahoma |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.100 |
Vault (2) |
|
Jahzara Swaby-Ranger |
2024 |
Michigan |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
39.125 |
– |
|
Lisa Szeibert |
2024 |
Missouri |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
38.275 |
– |
|
Lundyn Vandertoolen |
2024 |
Utah State |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
38.650 |
– |
|
Gabby Van Frayen |
2025 |
Kentucky |
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
38.550 |
– |
READ THIS NEXT: For Senior Qualifiers, the Nastia Liukin Cup Means Friendship and Fond Memories
Article by Talitha Ilacqua
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