Every year, the team at College Gymnasts News releases a preseason poll in which the CGN staff predict what the top 36 will be at the end of the season. Now that we have released our 2025 preseason poll, let’s take a look back at how accurate we were last season with our 2024 predictions to see what we got right and what we got wrong.
What We Got Right
The 2024 season was full of unpredictable upsets, but our poll still managed to get some things right. We correctly predicted most of the teams that ended up in the top 10, with our poll correctly predicting seven of 10 teams in the top 10 (LSU, California, Utah, Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Kentucky).
We also correctly predicted Clemson would crack the top 36 in its inaugural season, and even predicted the team’s final ranking at No. 35. Not only that, Clemson’s final ranking was the only one of our preseason predictions that was spot-on—even though we had no previous seasons to factor in.
What We Got Wrong
Like most of the college gymnastics community, our team felt confident that two-time defending champion Oklahoma would come out on top again this year. But, in a massive upset, the Sooners fell short of making it to the final night of nationals and ended their season in sixth.
We also underestimated two teams that had stellar seasons to lead them to the top eight: Stanford and Arkansas. We most underestimated Stanford, predicting a ranking of No. 19—14 spots off from its actual final ranking of fifth place.
Another team we underestimated substantially was Penn State. The Nittany Lions took advantage of Michigan’s performance during night one of regionals and advanced to the final with their third-best meet of the season—helping solidify their final ranking of 15th, a full 10-point improvement from their finish the previous season.
However, the ranking we got the most wrong was Iowa’s. We had the Hawkeyes at No. 22 in our preseason poll. But, with a tumultuous season capped off by a last-place performance at the Big Ten championships, the team finished at 37th, 15 spots off from our preseason prediction.
Postseason Chaos
We would be remiss not to mention that a lot of the misses in our preseason poll were a result of a chaotic postseason. Top teams like Kentucky, UCLA, and Michigan were knocked out in upsets by lower-ranked teams in their respective regionals—with former championship-winning teams UCLA and Michigan not even advancing to their regional finals. This opened the door for teams like Stanford and Arkansas to advance to nationals and drastically improve upon their regular season rankings.
Additionally, Oklahoma’s uncharacteristic performance during night one of nationals further impacted the accuracy of our preseason poll. Who could have predicted the Sooners would have their first sub-197 meet in years in Fort Worth?
Prediction Accuracy: Who Did the Best and Worst?
Seventeen College Gym News staff members submitted a top 36 for the 2024 preseason poll, and some of us made better predictions than others. Here are some of our staff’s best, and not-so-best, predictions.
Best
- Julianna was the only staff member to correctly predict LSU would win nationals and take the No. 1 spot.
- Only Claire H correctly ranked California in the No. 2 spot.
- Iowa State didn’t make it into the top 36 of our preseason poll, but Talitha broke from the pack and was one of only two staff members that ranked the team at all. Not only that, she predicted its No. 29 ranking as well.
Worst
- Claire B underestimated Penn State like the rest of us, predicting a No. 35 ranking for it (the lowest ranking given to the team). But, the Nittany Lions outperformed her expectations by 20 places with their 15th-place ranking.
- Brandis had high hopes for Western Michigan, ranking it at 22nd. But, the team ended up at 39th—a 17-place difference.
- Emily L was the only staff member who predicted Auburn would make it to nationals, projecting the Tigers to finish fifth. Unfortunately, they landed in the 20th spot.
READ THIS NEXT: Oklahoma Tops College Gym News 2025 Preseason Poll
Article by Tyler Irish
