With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season just around the corner, it’s time to dive into the can’t-miss matchups, schedule highlights, and under-the-radar meets that are sure to make waves this year. From powerhouse rivalries to breakout teams vying for the spotlight, this season promises to deliver unforgettable routines, fierce competition, and plenty of surprises. As always, our College Gym News team is here to break it all down, sharing our insights and predictions for the biggest moments to come.
There are so many big invitationals and multi-session meets this season. Which are you looking forward to most?
Peri: January is SO packed with neutral site meets, and I’m excited to see four bubble teams take on the Next Level Podium Challenge, featuring George Washington, Illinois State, Pittsburgh, and Western Michigan. Four teams, four conferences, lots of high-impact freshmen, and plenty of international gymnasts – need I want more?
Naomi: It may be a basic pick, but I’m very excited for the second session of the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, featuring LSU, California, Utah, and Oklahoma. It’s an early season match-up between four teams that will be looking to make it to Four on the Floor this year, and it will be interesting to compare the results at this meet against those in the postseason.
Claire H: I’m also going with the same basic pick. You can’t beat four of the top teams competing at a neutral site so early in the season. It will really set some expectations for the season to come.
Julianna: I definitely echo session two of the Sprouts Quad in January, however, another really exciting one will be the GymQuarters in February. This quad will have three of the four teams who ended last season in the top 25, and with Iowa projected to have a notable rise in the rankings from 37th this year, this is bound to be a fun meet to watch.
Jessica: This season is full of exciting quads and invitationals so it’s hard to pick just one. However, I have to second Peri with this one. The Next Level Podium is going to be so much fun to watch. The blend of the conferences and a nice mix of international gymnastics should make for a fun and spicy one! A quad meet that might fly a wee bit under the radar that I’m personally excited to see is the GW quad meet in March. While it’s not at a neutral site, the combo of George Washington, Maryland, Towson, and NC State all in one place is just so good. A can’t-miss meet, in my opinion, if you love dynamic underdogs.
What about which “normal” multi-team meet that’s not at a neutral site?
Peri: For the chaos of it all, I’m looking forward to the Empire State Collegiate Championship. All seven New York teams will be there and it has the potential to be a non-midwest, mid-season edition of the MAC championship. There are so few states that could market a meet like this, and I’m excited every time I see one with this theme.
Naomi: I’m looking forward to Clemson and Penn State at George Washington, simply because it will likely be a high-stakes meet when it comes to the regionals picture. George Washington just missed out on regionals last year, and will want to land on the right side of the bubble this time around. Clemson and Penn State will be looking to comfortably escape the play-ins – and maybe even contend for a seeded spot? Regardless, this is likely a meet that could have a lot to say in regards to the regionals picture, and that’s very exciting.
Claire H:: Denver is hosting a quad early in the season with Georgia, Missouri, and LIU. I’m really interested to see how Denver, Georgia, and Missouri stack up. All three ended up on the bubble of the preseason rankings between 9 and 15 and are hoping they can prove that they are nationals worthy this year.
Jessica: Temple is hosting their “Women in Sports” meet in early February. With Towson, George Washington, New Hampshire, and LIU under Temple’s roof, this meet will be particularly interesting. I think this meet will give us good insight into who the front-runners in the EAGL are going into the halfway point of the season. Especially given EAGLs are in Philly this year, this will be an exciting one to watch.
Which 2025 dual are you most looking forward to?
Peri: Iowa at Nebraska, featuring enough Canadian elites to make an unofficial lineup (eight, hello!). When teams drop their schedules, this is one of the metrics that draws me each season and I’m looking forward to having the added bonus of it being an in-conference matchup.
Naomi: California at Stanford. These two teams had breakout seasons last year and are shaping up to be the powerhouse rivalry of the ACC, and I can’t wait to see what their first meet in this new conference environment looks like.
Claire H: UCLA at Utah for me. I’m excited that these former Pac-12 rivals kept a dual on their calendar despite them moving to separate conferences. It’s always a fun matchup between these two teams.
Julianna: This would either have to be UCLA and Michigan State or California and N.C.State. With both UCLA and California being a part of new conferences, these first face-offs are bound to shake things up, especially with its opponents being the reigning Big 10 and ACC conference champions.
Jessica: This one boils down to which crazy newly-formed conference matchup I’m more intrigued by on a given day. Oklahoma at Georgia and California at N.C. State currently have me in a chokehold. With Georgia’s new iconic coaching staff and fresh team dynamic, it will be interesting to see how they fare against the national title-hungry Sooners. It will also be interesting to see how the reigning ACC champs match up against NCAA runner-up as the Bears are introduced to ACC gymnastics.
A lot of teams are in new conferences this year. Which new in-conference matchup are you most excited for?
Peri: At the risk of going with the easy answer, UCLA at Michigan. They’re two teams that have both de-throned Oklahoma at nationals fairly recently, and have been recruiting heavily to claw back to their respective strength from 2018 and 2021.
Naomi: Another easy answer from me, Oklahoma at LSU. The reigning national champions versus what will likely be a dominant Oklahoma squad, in the hyper-competitive SEC? Sign me up! Being a meet in the PMAC, it may not even be unreasonable to be on 199 watch.
Claire H:: I definitely agree with the two above me, but really any of Oklahoma’s SEC duals are going to be really fun to watch. I’m really excited to see the Sooners have some steep competition in their conference matchups.
KT: I really want to see how Oklahoma does at Auburn. The SEC is such a stacked conference and the student section at Auburn is known for it’s good-natured sledging of the opponents on their floor rotation, it will be interesting to see how they respond to the pressure.
Julianna: NC State and Stanford is definitely going to be a fun one to watch. Both these teams hit such a peak last season and I’m excited to see how this momentum will carry over when the two face one another for the first time!
Jessica: Clemson at California is for sure going to be a great one to watch. Clemson traveled to the West Coast last season for a meet at UCLA so the cross-country travel won’t be anything new, but I’m stoked to see the Tigers in Berkley as they face each other for the first time. It will be an exciting matchup as both teams are stacked with fun and dynamic routines!
What’s an underrated meet on the calendar that you think will end up being particularly competitive?
Peri: Cornell at Brockport at the end of February is sure to be full of wildcards, and both teams are slated to show significant lineup turnover. Cornell has a bars-heavy freshman class where they struggled in 2024, while Brockport is likely to see turnover due to the sheer size of their roster at 31 athletes.
Naomi: Maryland at Washington is an interesting one for me as someone on the Big 10 beat. They’re two teams that tend to be close in terms of rankings, flirting with play-ins at regionals, but haven’t been thought of together due to being on opposite coasts. While this matchup flies under the radar in a Big 10 landscape that includes UCLA and Michigan, I think this could be a close meet and the beginnings of an interesting rivalry.
Claire H: N.C. State at Clemson will be a fun matchup in the ACC. The two teams met head-to-head twice last year and both times NC State came out on top, but Clemson definitely has the talent to win and I think with a year of competition under its belt it’ll be in a better position to do so.
KT: Towson at Ball State is one I’m really looking forward to. After a decade of finishing in the mid 40s and 50s, Towson has had a really successful few seasons finishing its past four with a nationals berth. Similarly, Ball State is on a successful run with nationals appearances in the past two. The pair are very closely matched, however Towson, whose vault team ranked 15th last season, have graduated two of it’s 10.0 SV vaults and Ball State lost a pair of all-arounders and 10 of the programs best-ever routines. Ball State is bringing in a talented freshman class including three- and four-star recruits. So this should be a tight match up between two teams who have been on the up in recent years but have holes to fill this season.
Jessica: I’m really looking forward to Washington at Minnesota. These two teams last saw each other in 2023, where Washington came out on top by .225. With the talent and artistry both teams have this year, this matchup is sure to be just as close…and just as exciting!
Which team do you think has the “best” schedule in terms of fun opponents or exciting matchups?
Claire H:: I’m gonna repeat myself here, but I’m really excited for Oklahoma’s schedule. Seeing the presumed top team go against so many highly ranked opponents with the conference schedule, plus matchups against California, Utah, and Michigan in non-conference meets. It’s going to be really interesting to see if Oklahoma can keep up its dominance.
KT: I agree with Claire, conference realignments are always interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing Oklahoma contending in a regular season in, arguably, the most competitive conference.
Julianna: All of the top five teams have really fun matchups to look forward to, but UCLA also has a great schedule in its first year in a new conference. UCLA kept in meets that have been exciting matchups for them in the past, like Utah and California, but especially towards the end of the year the Bruins will start to see more Big 10 teams like Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Maryland that they may not have seen in previous years. That will be exciting to watch!
Jessica: With the SEC stacked more than ever this season, all of their schedules intrigue me, and to echo the group, especially Oklahoma’s. It’s going to be interesting to see how these teams fare now that they’re all in what is potentially the most competitive conference.
Name one meet from your beat (if you have one) that fans should keep an eye on.
Peri: Ball State hosts Central Michigan in February, and these two teams are coming into the 2025 season with unfinished business from last spring. The Cardinals are looking to finally break free of the play-in round, and the Chippewas will be eager to show that they can notch impressive team scores outside of their MAC titles.
Naomi: I think CGN has already made this point several times, but don’t count out Penn State this season. It can get lost in the shuffle of the Big 10, but after upsetting Michigan last year in regionals and bringing in an incredibly talented freshman squad Penn State is a team on the rise.
Julianna: Looking specifically at GEC, the quad meet with Penn hosting Yale alongside Towson and Ursinus is going to be one to keep an eye on. Penn has won the GEC conference championships the past three years in a row, and Yale came in number two right behind Penn in the preseason poll, so this first competition between the two may set the stage for the conference championships at the end of the season.
Jessica: This might be obvious to some, but the BIG Four meet is such a unique matchup. Rutgers, Ohio State, Nebraska, and UCLA all competing under one roof for the first time brings me so much joy. All four teams are full of exciting gymnastics, and this one has the potential to be a close one!
If you could attend any 2025 meet in person, which one would it be?
Peri: For aforementioned reasons, the Iowa/Nebraska dual meet. And for good measure, it should be a neutral meet held in Canada so the eight gymnasts can cash in on NIL with their home crowd. If college football can have games overseas, surely this isn’t tooooo big of a request.
Claire H:: I’m hoping to take a drive down to Rutgers to see it go up against Michigan this season! It would be my first in-person NCAA meet, so I’m super excited about it!
KT: Oklahoma travels to the PMAC to take on reigning champions LSU on Valentine’s day. I would love to see these two championship-winning teams battle it out in what I’m sure will be a sell-out meet. Throw in a romantic pre-meet Raising Canes and it’s a match made in heaven!
Julianna: Florida vs LSU is always one of my favorite competitions to watch, and I feel like the energy will be through the roof in the PMAC between two of the current top five teams.
Jessica: Oklahoma at Georgia might be one of the most anticipated meets this season for reasons previously stated. The last time these two teams saw each other was in 2017, and it was a relatively close one, considering Oklahoma was just starting its historic run in the college gymnastics world. I’m going to try to go to this one myself, and I’m sure it will be a sell-out meet, which I can’t wait to see. And for my fellow Swifties out there, it’s Gymdog Eras Night…you won’t wanna miss it!
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Article by the editors of College Gym News
