This will be a very different-looking Alabama team, with the graduation of an iconic senior class and the entrance of head coach Ashley Johnston’s first group of recruits. 2025 will be an important test for her era in Tuscaloosa. Expect some growing pains, but there will be lots of opportunity and some new stars this year for the Crimson Tide.
2024 Rewind
No. 8 overall | No. 2 at SECs | No. 8 in regular season | NCAA semifinals
This is pretty much where Alabama was projected to land last year. A great day at SECs might help to dull the memory of a poor one in the national semifinal, in which a catastrophic beam meltdown was overshadowed by Oklahoma’s even more unexpected disaster.
Losses & Gains
| Returning | In |
| Fifth-Years Shania Adams Cameron Machado Seniors Corinne Bunagan Lilly Hudson Jordyn Paradise Juniors Karis German Gabby Gladieux Natalia Pawlak Rachel Rybicki Sophomores Chloe LaCoursiere Gabby Ladanyi Jamison Sears | Freshmen Love Birt Brooke Dennis Ryan Fuller Kylee Kvamme Faye Rodio Paityn Walker |
| Out | |
| Graduated Luisa Blanco (AA) Ella Burgess (BB, FX) Makarri Doggette (VT, UB) Isabella Martin Transferred Mati Waligora (UB, BB, FX) Retired Lillian Lewis | |
| Injury Update | |
| Freshman Love Birt has been spotted in a knee brace with crutches recently. Jordyn Paradise is on the way back after missing 2024 with injury. Sophomore Jamison Sears has not competed at either of Alabama’s public intrasquads, but she has been present and free of injury paraphernalia. | |
Fresh Faces
This is a big, understated freshman class with a lot to offer. Committing Californians Paityn Walker and Ryan Fuller was one of Ashley Johnston’s first acts as head coach, and Philippines elite Kylee Kvamme has shown NCAA-ready difficulty on both the domestic and international stages.
Apparatus Deep Dive
Vault
2024 Event Ranking: No. 9 | NQS: 49.380 | Average: 49.323
| Event Overview: Alabama vault always seems to be abundantly talented yet inconsistent on the landings. Don’t expect this year to be any different. Three freshmen, out of eight total gymnasts, showed 10.0 SV vaults at Ghosts and Goblins intrasquad with varying degrees of readiness. This probably won’t be the year that element of chaos will be totally extinguished, but it’ll at least be entertaining. | ||
| Locks: Lilly Hudson, Gabby Gladieux Hudson is Alabama’s top returning 10.0 SV vault and is now a seasoned veteran who can lead this lineup. Gladieux has a great 10.0 SV too, but she’s so good at sticking her Yurchenko full that Alabama often chooses it instead. She’s a former SEC vault champion with her full, so why risk more? | ||
| Contenders: Corinne Bunagan, Kylee Kvamme, Chloe LaCoursiere, Jamison Sears, Paityn Walker Bunagan was a midseason addition last year who earned a consistent spot in the lineup. LaCoursiere’s Yurchenko one and a half is very pretty but stands to improve on landing consistency this year while Sears competed a full in her freshman season but could return to the one and a half she rocked in level 10. Freshmen Walker and Kvamme showed 10.0 SV vaults with reasonable landings at Ghosts and Goblins. | ||
| Wildcards: Shania Adams, Ryan Fuller, Karis German, Jordyn Paradise, Faye Rodio Adams has been in and out of vault through her career and competed on the event just twice last year. German was also a part-time contributor. Paradise has her Yurchenko one and a half back after injury. Of the freshmen, Fuller does a solid Yurchenko full and Rodio has a front handspring pike half. |
Bars
2024 Event Ranking: No. 4 | NQS: 49.555 | Average: 49.421
| Event Overview: Bars has been a strength for Alabama in recent years, and despite some significant routine losses, this lineup shouldn’t be particularly shorthanded. Six athletes return who competed bars at least a handful of times last year, and the freshmen are comfortable, too. | ||
| Locks: Shania Adams, Chloe LaCoursiere, Cameron Machado This group of veterans brings consistency, stickability, and great van Leeuwens. LaCoursiere was a great lead off last year, but her beautiful routine might move deeper in the lineup in 2025. | ||
| Contenders: Ryan Fuller, Gabby Gladieux, Lilly Hudson, Natalia Pawlak, Paityn Walker Hudson, Pawlak, and Gladieux competed bars for significant chunks of last season and should continue to be functional options. Fuller and Walker have looked great in training, especially Walker, whose routine construction includes a daring Maloney-Gienger combination. | ||
| Wildcards: Karis German, Kylee Kvamme, Gabby Ladanyi, Rachel Rybicki These three returners have competed bars little to none in their careers at Alabama but have appeared in training or intrasquads. We haven’t yet spotted Kvamme working bars in Tuscaloosa, but she’s potentially remarkable here, with multiple E release options. |
Beam
2024 Event Ranking: No. 6 | NQS: 49.480 | Average: 49.315
| Event Overview: This is the event where Alabama returns the fewest routines. Freshmen or unexpected returners will need to step up just to fill lineup spots, and if they’re not game, inconsistency could easily become a problem. | ||
| Locks: Shania Adams, Gabby Gladieux, Lilly Hudson These three veterans, especially Adams, who owns the highest returning NQS, will need to step up to fill the Luisa Blanco-shaped hole in this beam lineup. Luckily, they’ve been around the block and know how to handle pressure. | ||
| Contenders: Kylee Kvamme, Chloe LaCoursiere, Cameron Machado, Rachel Rybicki Rybicki has spent plenty of weeks in this lineup and is a solid bet at least at the beginning of the season. LaCoursiere and Machado are veterans who haven’t done a lot of beam at Alabama but seem to be preparing to contribute this year. Kvamme looks the strongest of the freshmen, from the little we’ve seen. | ||
| Wildcards: Love Birt, Ryan Fuller, Karis German, Gabby Ladanyi, Paityn Walker This group is a mixture of freshmen and returners who haven’t done beam in college. Birt may be injured, but if healthy, she should be a strong prospect. |
Floor
2024 Event Ranking: No. 12 | NQS: 49.545 | Average: 49.469
| Event Overview: Alabama floor is fun and stacked with E passes but can fall short on landing precision compared to the very best in the country. There are enough returning routines on this event to fill the lineup, but it remains to be seen which will rise to the top, or rather, to the back end. | ||
| Locks: Gabby Gladieux, Lilly Hudson Gladieux was Alabama’s top floor athlete in 2024 by NQS while Hudson is ultra-consistent and a 10.0 threat. | ||
| Contenders: Shania Adams, Chloe LaCoursiere, Cameron Machado, Jamison Sears These veterans have all shown potential on floor through their careers and may be asked to step up in 2025. Sears is a potential future star with just a little landing cleanup; after a slow start to her freshman season, she finished on a great trajectory. | ||
| Wildcards: Love Birt, Ryan Fuller, Kylee Kvamme, Rachel Rybicki, Paityn Walker The freshmen once again have potential here, but it remains to be seen which will take advantage. Rybicki, always a valuable bench player for the Tide, looks viable as a backup option. |
Records Watch
Team: 198.250 | AA: 39.850 | VT: 49.775/10.000 | UB: 49.675/10.000 | BB: 49.725/10.000 | FX: 49.750/10.000
The floor program record was set in 2024, but turnover on that event might make it tough to match this year. The bars team record looks tantalizing, though. Several individuals can contend for perfect 10s to mark their names in the record book, most notably Lilly Hudson.
The Big Picture
There will be a transition period for Alabama this year, with beam perhaps the stickiest event. There’s also a lot of opportunity to develop the identity of the Ashley Johnston era, and on an individual level, for contenders to step into empty lineup spots and make themselves stars. Expect a slow start but not a disaster by any means for this iteration of the Crimson Tide.
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Article by Rebecca Scally
