The Mount: Week 1 Previews and Predictions

As the college gymnastics season kicks off this weekend, fans will be treated to an intriguing slate of early matchups despite the small number of meets. Reigning national champion LSU is set to start its tidal defense with its banner-raising ceremony in a home dual against Iowa State. Oklahoma will embark on its revenge tour in Nashville, eager to reclaim its place atop the rankings and become the face of its new conference, the SEC. Adding to the excitement, Wilberforce will make its much-anticipated debut, bringing new energy with old faces at the Pacific Coast Challenge. Meanwhile, realignment adds a layer of unpredictability, as several teams are set to compete in their new conferences for the first time.

Must-Watch Meets

Iowa State at LSU

Friday, Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET | SECN

Prediction: 95.7% LSU, 4.3% Iowa State

All eyes will be on the reigning champs as they headline the opening night of the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season. The Tigers are, once again, stacked, but the preseason news that defending all-around champion Haleigh Bryant is going to miss time with a nagging elbow injury, combined with lots of missing sets at Gymnastics 101, puts some pressure on LSU’s touted depth to come through in the clutch. Expect a now injury-free Aleah Finnegan to get the green light on four events after her clutch beam routine to clinch the Tigers’ natty, as she’ll be key in ensuring LSU can get by a Cyclone squad in transition mode. Second-year head coach Ashley Miles Greig helped Iowa State jump back into the postseason in her debut season and now must prove she can replicate and build upon that success despite losing some key routines.

Notes about the predictions: Prior to the announcement of Haleigh Bryant’s injury, LSU had a 98% chance of winning this meet. However, even without Bryant, the Tigers’ win chances only dropped a few percentage points. Iowa State will be looking to put up the higher score on at least two events at this meet if it wants a chance to walk away with the win. If it can do so on both bars and beam, it becomes slightly favored to win with a 55% chance—but we only see this outcome in 1% of our simulations.

American Gold Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Classic – Oceanside Session One

with California, Oregon State, and UCLA in Oceanside, California

Saturday, Jan. 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET | TBD

Prediction: 73.0% California, 24.5% UCLA, 2.5% Oregon State

In an ode to their former conference, the trio of Pac-12 powerhouses will kick off their seasons against one another in a marquee matchup. The Golden Bears, fresh off their runner-up finish at nationals last season, enter as the favorites, with eMjae Frazier and Mya Lauzon leading the way as two of the country’s best all-arounders. But it’s Beaver Jade Carey and Bruin Jordan Chiles garnering much of the preseason attention after winning gold with Team USA at the Paris Olympics. Carey likely won’t miss a step after competing during the 2024 NCAA season, putting many eyes on Chiles to see how quickly she’s able to adjust back to collegiate gymnastics after only competing elite last season.

Notes about the predictions: California enters as the favorite to win this meet, but we saw eMjae Frazier nursing an injury at the team’s preseason intrasquad. Without Frazier or California’s other star all-arounder, Mya Lauzon, California, and UCLA become equally likely to come out on top. It also remains to be seen if Olympian Jordan Chiles will be ready to go week one after officially rejoining the team only about a month ago. Without Chiles, UCLA’s win chances drop to just 12%. Oregon State’s chances of winning are low but not impossible. The Beavers will want to win at least three out of the four events to be the favorite to secure the W.

American Gold Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Classic – Nashville

with Auburn, BYU, Nebraska, and Oklahoma

Saturday, Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m. ET | TBD

Prediction: 99.7% Oklahoma, 0.1% Auburn, 0.1% BYU, 0.1% Nebraska

Meets in Tennessee have been notorious for handing out 10s like candy on Halloween, making the matchup a little more exciting. Oklahoma is back and better than ever, and it will be ready to show it as it competes against its first SEC opponent since joining the conference. Don’t sleep on the other teams competing in this meet though; Auburn is looking to find its way back toward the top of the rankings after a few down seasons while Nebraska and BYU will want a good road score to start their 2025s on a high note.

Notes about the predictions: The meet predictor is once again predicting an extremely dominant season for Oklahoma. The more interesting race here is the one for second place. Auburn is currently the favorite for second with a 57% chance, followed by BYU and Nebraska with 29% and 14%, respectively. If BYU can post a higher score on bars than Auburn and Nebraska, though, it becomes the favorite for second with a 53% chance, whereas Nebraska needs to beat BYU and Auburn on at least two events to become a 48% favorite for the second-place spot.

Michigan at Denver

Sunday, Jan. 5 at 5 p.m. ET | ESPN2

Prediction: 52.8% Michigan, 47.2% Denver

The Wolverines and Pioneers are in very different positions to start the season. Michigan will open the year with vastly different lineups than in 2024. Expect to see fresh faces on all three pieces, with three to four new gymnasts in each lineup. Freshman Sophia Diaz should lead the way. Denver, on the other hand, will have a nearly identical look, with the obvious exception being the absence of Jessica Hutchinson. Both squads are looking for a redemption arc; whose road to Fort Worth will get off to the better start?

Notes about the predictions: Michigan at Denver is the closest matchup of the week, with the Wolverines just barely having the edge over the Pioneers. Beam will be a key event at this dual, with the winner of that event also winning the meet in 70% of our simulations. If Denver can post the higher score on beam along with one other event, its win chances become 90%. Michigan however, is going to want to put up the higher score on bars to increase its win chances to 75%. A second event win would push the Wolverines to become 90% favorites.

Upset Alert

Towson at N.C. State

Saturday, Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. ET | TBD

Prediction: 77.1% N.C. State, 22.9% Towson

Two former conference rivals will kick off the season with what promises to be an exciting showdown. Both N.C. State and Towson enter 2025 as reigning conference champions, eager to make a bold opening statement. N.C. State will debut fresh faces in its lineups following the graduations of standout all-arounders Alexis Ortega and Emily Shepard, while Towson faces a significant challenge filling the gap left by Grace Vaillancourt, particularly on bars. Although N.C. State enters as the favorite, Towson has claimed victory in their last two matchups—including a postseason upset—keeping the potential for another surprise firmly in play.

Notes about the predictions: N.C. State comes into this meet as the favorite to win but will rely heavily on sixth-year Chloe Negrete. Without her at full strength, Towson becomes the favorite with a 62% chance of coming out on top. Assuming N.C. State comes in healthy, though, Towson will want to win both bars and beam to make itself the favorite, increasing its win chances to 76%. Don’t expect this meet to be an easy W for either team, though. A third of our simulations resulted in a win by three tenths or less.

Wondering how we came up with the predictions for each meet? Read more about our methodology.

There’s Other Stuff Happening Too

We’d be remiss to let a preview for week one go by without bringing up these additional areas of interest.

• Utah State will open its season at Utah in front of what’s sure to be a packed audience; the atmosphere in the Huntsman Center is always exciting, and it seems fitting for the debut of Avery Neff and the rest of Utah’s star freshman class. Those freshmen were all over the place at the Red Rocks Preview, with one notable exception: Former five-star Zoe Johnson was present but not in lineups. It will be interesting to see if she makes an impact tonight.  
• The second session of the Oceanside meet will mark Wilberforce’s program debut alongside Arizona, Rutgers, and Southern Utah. Recent debut meets for newer teams have featured such exciting moments as Morgan Price’s stuck vault. Will we see a similar statement from the Bulldogs?
• While most teams held their preview meets in December, Georgia’s GymDog Debut is this Saturday, just a week before the team’s first meet of the season (and at the same time many teams are kicking off their 2025 seasons for real). The preview will be our first look at the team under Cécile Canqueteau-Landi. 

Fantasy Corner

If you’re playing fantasy gymnastics this year, you want to do the best you can, right? We have you covered with tips and tricks all season long in Fantasy Central. Managing editor Emily Minehart and data editor Dara Tan will be bringing you the latest updates on injuries, scoring statistics, sneaky waiver wire targets, and more.

CGN Pick’em

Brandis

• American Gold Oceanside S1: California
• American Gold Oceanside S2: Arizona
• American Gold Nashville: Oklahoma
• Towson at N.C. State: Towson
• Michigan at Denver: Denver

Elizabeth

• American Gold Oceanside S1: California
• American Gold Oceanside S2: Arizona
• American Gold Nashville: Oklahoma
• Towson at N.C. State: N.C. State
• Michigan at Denver: Michigan

Emily M

• American Gold Oceanside S1: California
• American Gold Oceanside S2: Southern Utah
• American Gold Nashville: Oklahoma
• Towson at N.C. State: Towson
• Michigan at Denver: Michigan

Jenna

• American Gold Oceanside S1: California
• American Gold Oceanside S2: Arizona
• American Gold Nashville: Oklahoma
• Towson at N.C. State: N.C. State
• Michigan at Denver: Denver

Rebecca

• American Gold Oceanside S1: California
• American Gold Oceanside S2: Arizona
• American Gold Nashville: Oklahoma
• Towson at N.C. State: Towson
• Michigan at Denver: Denver

Week 1 Guest: Rebekah

• American Gold Oceanside S1: California
• American Gold Oceanside S2: Arizona
• American Gold Nashville: Oklahoma
• Towson at N.C. State: N.C. State
• Michigan at Denver: Denver

Want to join in on the predictions? Tag us on social media with your picks then tune into the meets to see how well you do!

How to Watch

Looking for more info on how to watch your favorite gymnasts and teams in action? Head to our master schedule for all the scoring, video, and live blog links, or head to our annual “How to Watch” article to see what platforms you have access to with various streaming services.

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Article by the editors of College Gym News