With the graduation of longtime superstar Raena Worley, things are going to look a bit different for the Wildcats this season. It will be far from a rebuilding year—Worley isn’t the only reason Kentucky is coming off its best regular season ever—as plenty of blossoming talent like Creslyn Brose, Makenzie Wilson, and Isabella Magnelli return to bolster a huge newcomer class of freshmen and high-profile transfers.
2024 Rewind
No. 9 overall | No. 3 at SEC | No. 6 in regular season | Regional Final
For the nation’s perpetual bubble team, after sitting on the right side of the nationals picture all season long, it stung to miss out on a repeat trip at the hands of an SEC foe by just a few tenths. With key losses to contend with, the Wildcats open 2025 on the wrong side of the bubble with ground to make up, and maintaining status as a top-half SEC team only gets more challenging with the addition of Oklahoma to the league—but it’s doable.
Losses & Gains
Returning | In |
Fifth-Years Hailey Davis Isabella Magnelli Seniors Jillian Procasky Annie Reigert Makenzie Wilson Sophomores Creslyn Brose Cadence Gormley Kaila Lawrence Sharon Lee Cecily Rizo Delaynee Rodriguez | Freshmen Abigail Bednar Chesney Bennett Carly Busch Anna Flynn Cashion Ryan Noonan Alyssa Orgen Transfers Skylar Kilough-Wilhelm (Washington) Isabella Rivelli (BGSU) |
Out | |
Graduated Bailey Bunn (UB, BB) Arianna Patterson (VT, BB, FX) Raena Worley (AA) Transferred Carissa Clay Claire Stippich Left Team Bridget Bourque Samantha Forman | |
Injury UpdateAlyssa Orgen was spotted wearing a brace on her left knee in late October, and the extent of any injury is unknown. After suffering an ACL tear less than a month into the 2024 season, Cadence Gormley is expected to be healthy and to contend for lineups. |
Fresh Faces
With six former starred recruits, Kentucky boasts a robust and talented rookie class. Anna Flynn Cashion had one of the biggest glow-ups of the 2024 class as she jumped from three to five stars in one season and will be looked upon immediately to contribute. Making up the rest of the 12th-ranked freshman class, her supporting cast will likely function as specialists but carry plenty of potential to make lineups as early as week one. Head coach Tim Garrison also hit the portal hard this offseason, bringing in Bowling Green’s best bar worker, Isabella Rivelli, and all around All-American Skylar Killough-Wilhelm from Washington.
Apparatus Deep Dive
Vault
2024 Event Ranking: No. 5 | NQS: 49.450 | Average: 49.365
Event Overview: After lots of early season success with the barrage of front handspring pike halves, the Wildcats’ vault totals trailed off a bit as the year progressed. Keeping consistently high marks and having as much difficulty as possible will get a tad tougher in 2025, as only one 10.0 start value was added despite a pair having left. | ||
Locks: Anna Flynn Cashion, Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, Isabella Magnelli, Makenzie Wilson Cashion’s front handspring pike half was made for this lineup, and it will fit perfectly alongside returning ones from Magnelli and vault All-American Wilson—who notched Kentucky’s first 10 since the Jenny Hansen era with her booming vault. Killough-Wilhelm’s NQS approached 9.900 despite starting from just 9.950, making her Yurchenko full worthy of a spot in the locks section. | ||
Contenders: Jillian Procasky, Cecily Rizo, Delaynee Rodriguez This is where the Wildcats could squeeze out some more difficulty if Cecily Rizo upgrades to the Yurchenko one and a half she competed in the first half of last season. Regardless, this experienced trio provides a solid block of fulls to fill out the first two spots of Kentucky’s lineup. | ||
Wildcards: Abigail Bednar, Chesney Bennett, Ryan Noonan With time to develop, all three of these freshmen project to be future depth options on vault with their Yurchenko fulls and could make an appearance later in the season as an exhibition or possible leadoff. |
Bars
2024 Event Ranking: No. 9 | NQS: 49.445 | Average: 49.365
Event Overview: Bars wasn’t an event that lost the Wildcats any meets in 2024, but maxing out at a 49.500 when all went well meant it didn’t win them any meets, either. This was addressed directly with two transfer portal nabs that should help keep the lineup consistent despite losing Worley’s massive set. | ||
Locks: Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, Jillian Procasky, Isabella Rivelli, Delaynee Rodriguez Likely anchor Killough-Wilhelm is the answer to the departing 9.9-plus NQS by bringing in one of her own while fellow transfer Rivelli was brought to Kentucky for her swing to shine in the SEC. Jillian Procasky and Delaynee Rodriguez are the strongest of the returnees and should be mainstays in the lineup once again. | ||
Contenders: Chesney Bennett, Hailey Davis, Anna Flynn Cashion, Cecily Rizo Of the rookies, former four-star recruit Chesney Bennett has looked promising in preseason videos, cleaning up a tricky set with a Maloney to clear hip to Ray combination that could give the lineup some flash. Cashion and her clean Gienger could be a factor here, too, but Rizo and Hailey Davis will most likely get the nod early with experience under their belts. | ||
Wildcards: Cadence Gormley, Ryan Noonan, Alyssa Orgen, Annie Riegert After excelling on the event in her level 10 career, Gormley did compete on bars in two meets for the Wildcats prior to her injury. Her 9.775s don’t reflect her potential, though, as a fully healthy Gormley is capable of a score Kentucky needs, not wants, in its lineup. |
Beam
2024 Event Ranking: No. 7 | NQS: 49.445 | Average: 49.329
Event Overview: This was a consistent event for Kentucky a season ago, especially when it mattered most, as the beam total hasn’t been below 49.300 since February. The Wildcats did lose half of that lineup, but the most important piece returns, and this is where the plethora of newcomers brings the most to the table. Depth didn’t flourish here in 2024, so Kentucky will be in the precarious position of relying on fresh faces to contribute. | ||
Locks: Creslyn Brose, Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, Isabella Magnelli, Delaynee Rodriguez The returning half of the lineup should stay in place, particularly All-American anchor Magnelli, while Killough-Wilhelm’s bid for the all around stays on track as beam is her most valuable to the squad thanks to its years of proven experience. | ||
Contenders: Abigail Bednar, Chesney Bennett, Anna Flynn Cashion, Alyssa Orgen This group of four is where Kentucky will have to pull a pair of routines from. They have the talent; it will just boil down to who can best translate that to the college level most quickly. Former four-star recruit Abigail Bednar competes with the confidence needed to nail the ever-tricky side aerial layout step-out combo that would bring flair to the lineup while fellow former four-star Alyssa Orgen would bring fluidity with her smooth connections. | ||
Wildcards: Carly Busch, Cadence Gormley, Kaila Lawrence, Cecily Rizo Just like on bars, Gormely is only a wildcard rather than a lock because we don’t know what to expect from her post-injury, but she did appear on beam in all three meets she was healthy for and is a piece Kentucky would want in the lineup. Rizo did make a couple beam lineups in 2024, notching both a hit and a miss. |
Floor
2024 Event Ranking: No. 6 | NQS: 49.615 | Average: 49.542
Event Overview: With 10.0-machine Worley, floor was easily the Wildcats’ best event in 2024. Creslyn Brose became one of the season’s breakout stars with her compelling and high-scoring routine and is now set to take the spotlight to headline an event that projects to be strong and deep for Kentucky. This is the only event the Wildcats won’t rely upon freshmen to compete, but they’ll still have that option. | ||
Locks: Creslyn Brose, Hailey Davis, Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, Isabella Magnelli All with a 9.9-plus NQS, this quartet will be the backbone of the lineup. Brose should slide into the anchor spot while also being on 10-watch, with another high-energy routine from Davis likely to set her up. This lineup won’t feature power tumbling, as front double fulls are the only E passes in this group; it will succeed because of cleanliness and consistency. | ||
Contenders: Chesney Bennett, Anna Flynn Cashion, Jillian Procasky, Delaynee Rodriguez, Makenzie Wilson Wilson and Delaynee Rodriguez were lineup mainstays last year but find themselves the most susceptible to swapping spots with the standout freshmen. Bennett and Cashion already boast college-level tumbling, so expect them to get tested at some point to see if their routines can thrive in an SEC environment. Procasky will also be in consideration after hitting twice when called upon early in 2024. | ||
Wildcards: Abigail Bednar, Alyssa Orgen Two more rookies who could contribute if all goes well, Orgen has trained a double layout that would give the Wildcats a double salto E pass the lineup currently lacks. |
Records Watch
Team: 198.100 | AA: 39.875 | VT: 49.550/10.000 | UB: 49.600/10.000 | BB: 49.575/10.000 | FX: 49.750/10.000
Worley did a lot of rewriting the record books over the last few seasons, but Wilson has already made her mark on history with her pair of 10s on vault. As mentioned before, Brose is a threat to match the perfect floor mark, and late in the season, expect the likes of Magnelli to lead the beam team to potentially reset the Wildcats’ best-ever total there.
The Big Picture
Assuming the freshmen class’s transition to college goes as smoothly for Kentucky as it did a season ago, the Wildcats will easily maintain their identity of always being in the conversation for nationals. If an underclassman like Rodriguez were to make the jump into the vacated standout all-arounder role to compliment Killough-Wilhelm’s bonus year, that could be what it takes to get Kentucky on the right side of the bubble.
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Article by Brandis Heffner