The Spartans are on a run over the past three years. With ninth-, 11th-, and 14th-place finishes on the books, Michigan State has been performing better than ever. Head coach Mike Rowe has proven to be a recruiting master, bringing in hugely talented class after class. This year is no exception, with former five-star recruit Amy Doyle coming in, as well as former four-star Cady Duplissis. The expectations are nothing short of a trip to Fort Worth for the reigning Big Ten champion. The conference meet will be harder to win than ever with the additions of UCLA and Washington this year. To win again, the Spartans will need to be better than ever.
2024 Rewind
No. 14 overall | No. 1 at Big Tens | No. 10 in regular season | Regional Finals
Big Ten regular season title. Big Ten championship. Regional final. It all went right in East Lansing last year, until bars and beam just didn’t go according to plan in Gainesville. This team was good enough all year that missing nationals was a disappointment, but it was still a very successful season overall.
Losses & Gains
| Returning | In |
| Fifth-Years Delanie Harkness Giana Kalefe Seniors Lauren Hsu Genevieve Lebster Katie Sawyer Skyla Schulte Gabrielle Stephen Juniors Elle Beaufait Sage Kellerman Stephanie Lebster Nikki Smith Olivia Zsarmani Sophomores Kendall Abney Emma Misenheimer Gabi Ortiz Isabella Trostel MaKayla Tucker | Freshmen Amy Doyle Cady Duplissis |
| Out | |
| Graduated Baleigh Garcia (BB) Naomi German Sydney Hayashi Jori Jackard (UB) Nyah Smith (VT, FX) Transferred Tara Walsh (VT) | |
| Injury Update | |
| Isabella Trostel missed her freshman season with a knee injury. She has at least been in grips at practice. Amy Doyle was injured before level 10 nationals in 2023, and did not compete vault or floor at all in 2024. | |
Fresh Faces
Doyle headlines this duo, but Duplissis is also a high-value recruit. Doyle has certainly been training bars and has been tagged working what appears to be tumbling, so hopefully her health is in good shape. Still, if she can only contribute bars and beam this year, she will be a huge asset. Duplissis is a very clean beam worker and competed a stickable Yurchenko one and a half in level 10.
Apparatus Deep Dive
Vault
2024 Event Ranking: No. 4 | NQS: 49.465 | Average: 49.381
| Event Overview: Vault was the Spartans’ showpiece in 2024, with big and clean 10.0 starts top to bottom. With two more Yurchenko one and a half options walking in the door and no regular routines leaving, this should continue to be a stellar event. | ||
| Locks: Sage Kellerman, Nikki Smith, MaKayla Tucker, Gabrielle Stephen, Skyla Schulte Nikki Smith and Kellerman will continue to lead this lineup with their 10.0 potential after both hit perfection last year. | ||
| Contenders: Cady Duplissis, Olivia Zsarmani Duplissis has a nice one and a half that is only not a lock due to sheer internal competition. Zsarmani went as high as 9.975 last year, but was a pinch less consistent than the locks. | ||
| Wildcards: Amy Doyle, Gabi Ortiz Doyle’s full is clean and big, and she has a one and a half as well. If she’s healthy enough, she’ll be an option. |
Bars
2024 Event Ranking: No. 12 | NQS: 49.415 | Average: 49.352
| Event Overview: Bars suffered with a little inconsistency last year and never quite had the scoring potential of the other three events. Doyle should add one more high-end routine to this group and help stabilize scoring. | ||
| Locks: Amy Doyle, Delanie Harkness, Sage Kellerman, Gabrielle Stephen, Olivia Zsarmani Doyle’s level 10 high is a 9.925 on bars, and she went nearly undefeated here in 2024. | ||
| Contenders: Skyla Schulte, Nikki Smith Schulte and Smith could be stellar on bars, but each did have a few misses that contributed to some of the overall unsteadiness last year. | ||
| Wildcards: Isabella Trostel Trostel wasn’t the most consistent bar worker in level 10, but it is the event we know she has been working in practice for the Spartans. |
Beam
2024 Event Ranking: No. 14 | NQS: 49.385 | Average: 49.242
| Event Overview: Beam was a tale of highs and lows last year, bottoming out in the regional final where cascading mistakes sealed the Spartans’ final fate. Consistency was a problem all year, but the freshmen should make a big difference. Garcia will leave a big hole, but if Trostel’s health cooperates, she should step into it. | ||
| Locks: Amy Doyle, Cady Duplissis, Gabi Ortiz, Skyla Schulte, Gabrielle Stephen Doyle moves with the confidence of a true beamer and hits well-extended split positions. Duplissis has been featured here on Michigan State’s Instagram; her upright carriage and clean lines will play well in college. | ||
| Contenders: Delanie Harkness, MaKayla Tucker, Isabella Trostel If she’s healthy, Trostel could be a game-changer here. One of the most anticipated beamers in her class, she has all the pieces of a college superstar. | ||
| Wildcards: Giana Kalefe, Emma Misenheimer, Nikki Smith Misenheimer didn’t compete during her freshman campaign, but she’s a clean, confident option who scored well as a level 10. |
Floor
2024 Event Ranking: No. 14 | NQS: 49.525 | Average: 49.423
| Event Overview: The Spartans are a hugely engaging floor team and were consistently scoring in the 49.500-plus stratosphere. This is not an event where the freshmen are expected to be immediate contributors, but after losing only occasional contributions from Nyah Smith, this lineup should continue to shine. | ||
| Locks: Delanie Harkness, Skyla Schulte, Nikki Smith, Gabrielle Stephen Nikki Smith was perfect here last year, and Schulte fell just short. All four of these athletes are capable of perfection. | ||
| Contenders: Elle Beaufait, MaKayla Tucker Beaufait went as high as 9.925, but her average fell short of the top group by a bit. Likewise for Tucker, who had a few misses. | ||
| Wildcards: Amy Doyle, Cady Duplissis, Emma Misenheimer Doyle competes a big full-in and has good performance quality. The question mark here is her health. Duplissis’ set is headlined by a piked full-in. Her execution is a step below some of the other lineup options. |
Records Watch
Team: 198.225 | AA: 39.775 | VT: 49.575/10.000 | UB: 49.725/10.000 | BB: 49.600/9.975 | FX: 49.675/10.000
There is no reason to believe the Spartans won’t continue their record-breaking streak. Is this the year that Michigan State sees its first-ever perfect number on beam? Could be! Schulte can be excellent there. It’s reasonable to think that the vault team record could fall, too, with even more 10.0 options.
The Big Picture
Michigan State will be working to go to nationals this year and is projected to do just that. Winning the Big Ten title again will require topping not just conference standby Michigan but surging Ohio State and Minnesota and Big Ten newcomer UCLA as well. That competition should be fierce this year. Overall, there are some health question marks for this group, but the returning core is exceptional and should be able to absorb any issues.
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Article by Emily Minehart
