The Buckeyes continue to climb under head coach Meredith Paulicivic’s leadership. This team has been on an upward trajectory, rocketing up the Big Ten rankings and hitting when it counts in the postseason to garner three Sweet Sixteen finishes in the past four seasons. Despite losing some strong gymnasts, Ohio State should have Fort Worth in its sights. The incoming class is lauded, and this group just keeps getting better.
2024 Rewind
No. 13 overall | No. 4 at Big 10s | No. 15 in regular season | Regional Finals
2024 was a good year in Columbus, but this team certainly has its sights set higher, both at the conference championship and nationally. The Buckeyes kept pace with Alabama in the Ann Arbor Regional Final, failing to advance by just under four-tenths of a point. The difference came down to early routines not quite hitting big enough numbers to propel the team total into the mid-197 range.
Losses & Gains
Returning | In |
Fifth-Years Jojo Warga Seniors Kaitlyn Grimes Sidney Washington Juniors Mallory Gregory Payton Harris Kaylyn Mintz Tory Vetter Sophomores Samara Buchanan Mary Green Courtney McCann Maisyn Rader Grace Walker | Freshmen Kerrington Baham JJ Coleman Rylee Guevara Karleigh Reutzel Reagan Sams Cameron Smith Transfers Ashton Meuret (West Virginia) Kate Parks (LIU) |
Out | |
Graduated Savannah Gonzalez (FX) Alexis Hankins (BB) Ella Hodges (BB, FX) Emma Pritchard (UB, BB) Nicole Riccardi (VT, UB) | |
Injury Update | |
Jojo Warga had a nasty beam fall week one at LSU and injured her shoulder; she competed twice more and then was out the rest of the season. Kaylyn Mintz suffered a season-ending knee injury in late February. |
Fresh Faces
Former five-star recruit Rylee Guevara headlines a very well-rounded incoming class. She’s especially strong on vault and floor but is projected to contribute on beam as well. She’s walking into Covelli as the reigning level 10 national floor champion.
Former four-stars JJ Coleman and Cameron Smith bring the other two freshmen Yurchenko one and a halves. Smith is a bit of a wildcard; she missed the 2023 level 10 season and only competed once in 2024, on beam at nationals. Still, she has been featured on Ohio State’s Instagram Story and was one of the top level 10 vaulters in the country throughout her club career. Coleman is a beamer; she tied for the level 10 national beam title.
Former three-star recruit Karleigh Reutzel is particularly strong on floor, and sophomore transfer Ashton Meuret never competed at West Virginia but has a strong bars pedigree. Classmate Kate Parks competed vault and bars at LIU last year.
Apparatus Deep Dive
Vault
2024 Event Ranking: No. 13 | NQS: 49.320 | Average: 49.229
Event Overview: Ohio State is one of the best teams in the country when it comes to getting maximum scores out of Yurchenko fulls. They’re dynamic, clean, and well-landed, and the Buckeyes turned that attention to detail into making vault a top event. Expect more 10.0 start values this year, but it’s unlikely to see any that aren’t clean and honed; that’s just not Ohio State’s style. There’s no “add a half twist to try it out” in Columbus. | ||
Locks: JJ Coleman, Rylee Guevara, Payton Harris, Tory Vetter, Sidney Washington This lineup will have two new 10.0 starts from Coleman and Guevara, plus Vetter’s one and a half is in the works. | ||
Contenders: Kaitlyn Grimes, Cameron Smith Smith is not a lock simply because she hasn’t competed vault since May of 2022, but she showed the event at Meet the Team in November. | ||
Wildcards: Mallory Gregory, Kate Parks Gregory is training a front handspring pike half. |
Bars
2024 Event Ranking: No. 29 | NQS: 49.245 | Average: 49.190
Event Overview: Bars was largely consistent in 2024, never falling apart but never hitting the kinds of numbers the other lineups put together. It needed one more consistent 9.9 routine to take the next step. Nicole Riccardi led the way, and her absence will be felt. This is where the transfers are most likely to contribute. | ||
Locks: Payton Harris, Tory Vetter, Sidney Washington Harris, Vetter, and Washington will make up the core of this lineup in 2025. | ||
Contenders: Courtney McCann, Rylee Guevara, Ashton Meuret, Kate Parks, Maisyn Rader Both McCann and Rader tried out this lineup last year and performed solidly. Guevara has some form issues but a solid base. | ||
Wildcards: Samara Buchanan, JJ Coleman, Kaylyn Mintz, Cameron Smith, Grace Walker Walker didn’t break into lineups in 2024, but she was featured on this event at November’s Meet the Team, as was Coleman. Bars was the latter’s weakest event in level 10, largely due to inconsistency. |
Beam
2024 Event Ranking: No. 23 | NQS: 49.240 | Average: 49.106
Event Overview: Beam could be a rollercoaster last year, with some big misses scattered throughout the year. Still, it could also be a showstopper, going as high as 49.525. Missing Ella Hodges will hit hardest on this event, but Coleman should take her lineup spot immediately. If McCann can find consistency and Warga is back to top health, beam will be looking up. | ||
Locks: JJ Coleman, Payton Harris, Tory Vetter, Coleman has excellent extension on jumps and leaps and a solid layout to two feet that should easily slot into the top six. | ||
Contenders: Samara Buchanan, Courtney McCann, Rylee Guevara, Maisyn Rader, Jojo Warga Guevara is not a lock only due to some form issues. McCann can be spectacular but ran very hot and cold last year. | ||
Wildcards: Karleigh Reutzel, Reagan Sams, Grace Walker Reutzel has great presence and carriage but had consistency issues in level 10. Sams was on beam at Meet the Team; she works with a lot of fluidity. |
Floor
2024 Event Ranking: No. 15 | NQS: 49.505 | Average: 49.425
Event Overview: The Buckeyes shine on floor. Far and away their top event by scores, a “miss” was still in the 49.300 range. Hodges blossomed here in her final season, and her absence will be felt, but Ohio State is bringing in top-tier floor work to soften the blow. This lineup will be competitive. | ||
Locks: Rylee Guevara, Payton Harris, Tory Vetter, Sidney Washington Guevara’s title-winning floor set relied on intricate and skilled combination work that should translate well to college. Coleman is a strong performer and should thrive under Paulicvic’s choreography; she brings a big full-in. | ||
Contenders: Karleigh Reutzel This is Reutzel’s best event, headlined by a very clean double pike and nice punch front double full. | ||
Wildcards: Kaitlyn Grimes, Kaylyn Mintz, Reagan Sams, Cameron Smith Sams competes a nice front double full while Smith’s set was led by a high full-in in 2022. |
Records Watch
Team: 197.750 | AA: 39.625 | VT: 49.625/10.000 | UB: 49.425/10.000 | BB: 49.525/9.975 | FX: 49.625/10.000
Ohio State has some very old records still on the books: Tory Vetter’s 39.625 all-around high last year matched a record set in 1997; she and Payton Harris are capable of toppling it. The Buckeyes haven’t been perfect on vault since 2003, but Cameron Smith could be capable of a 10.0 there at her best. Will someone break the 10.0 barrier on beam? Courtney McCann got within a whisper last year, and this is Coleman’s sweet spot.
The Big Picture
The Buckeyes are projected to continue to make their mark on the national scene in 2025. On paper, they have enough talent coming in to absorb lost routines, and the leadership coming from Harris and Vetter is undeniable. Breaking through to the next level on bars is the only question mark in 2025. Fort Worth is on the board.
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Article by Emily Minehart
Heads up.. Harris also has a 1.5 yurchenko and has been nearing a 10 her whole career:)