Signing day usually isn’t full of huge breaking news in gymnastics: Most verbally committed gymnasts have been so for some time. The surprises we do get, though, are always fascinating. This year we had a flurry of late commitment switches and one big-name announcement on signing day itself.
With the recent elimination of the NLI and the move away from head-count scholarships in gymnastics, this signing day has been different than in past years. There’s no longer a clear distinction between scholarship and walk-on athletes based on the type of paperwork an athlete signed or based on the use of the word “signed” in a press release. Different schools seem to be navigating these changes in different ways, but the overall trend appears to be that more gymnasts are able to make their commitment official on signing day than in the past.
Big Names Unsigned
A few rated recruits, most of whom announced they would be receiving a scholarship, have not yet signed. Alabama commit Azaraya Ra-Akbar and Stanford commit Jennifer Williams are part of that group, but there’s no reason to panic: Both train outside of the U.S., and it’s not uncommon for international athletes to sign a little later. Abigail Ryssman, who recently switched her commitment from Denver to Utah, was not announced by the Utes as a signee despite committing on a scholarship less than three weeks ago. She did participate in a signing party at her club, though. Finally, Rutgers commit Abril Toscanini remains unsigned.
Another Big Name to Florida
The lone uncommitted five-star recruit in the class, GAGE’s Ly Bui, had long been linked to Florida in rumors but never so much as confirmed an official visit. Florida officially nabbed her on Wednesday when she signed alongside clubmate Amelia Disidore.
Washington and Iowa
Head coach Jen Llewellyn’s move from Washington to Iowa this summer set both schools’ recruiting outlook into disarray. Of the six class of 2025 athletes committed to either school before the coaching change, only one ultimately signed to her original destination on Wednesday.
Sophie Schriever switched her commitment from Washington to Iowa a few weeks back, and on Signing Day itself, Daisy Bowles announced she would do the same. Iowa’s initial two recruits switched commitments in recent weeks, with Celeste Field now signed to Clemson and Terra Rutter to Denver. On Washington’s end, one original commit, Evelyn DeYoung, did sign. It’s unclear whether Washington’s final former verbal commit, Isabelle Futch, is still doing gymnastics. Washington took it down to the wire to assemble a new recruiting class around DeYoung, ultimately signing three athletes. Two more verbal commits came late, on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, for likely walk-ons.
Joining Early
Two class of 2026 athletes reclassified and signed on Wednesday in order to join their teams a year early. Avery Moll will head to Georgia and Alexandria Zambrano will arrive at Penn State in the fall of 2025. Syrie Brazzle of the class of 2025 signed with Southern Utah and will join in January. These reclassifications were known in advance of signing day, but confirmation is always helpful.
Bridgeport
Bridgeport had no known verbal commits prior to signing day, but ultimately signed two athletes, Belle Schmidt and Delphine Desjardins. Desjardins continues a decorated tradition of Canadians at Bridgeport and will join NCAA gymnastics at the same time as her twin Leanne, an Ithaca commit.
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Article by Rebecca Scally
