Get ready for an electrifying showdown at the 2025 NCAA national championships, where some of the nation’s most talented teams will battle it out for supremacy. In one semifinal, expect Alabama, Missouri, Florida, and Oklahoma to throw everything they have at making the final. Meanwhile, the other semifinal pits Michigan State, UCLA, LSU, and Utah in a high-stakes contest. Only two teams from each session will make it to the grand finale on Saturday.
If individual glory is more your speed, we have that covered too, with a preview of the athletes looking to claim national titles publishing tomorrow.
Want to learn more about the postseason format? Our NCAA postseason guide has all the details.
The Contenders
No. 1 LSU
Semifinal 2: Thursday, April 17 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Starting Event: Bars
Relevant Stats: 396.165 NQS | 198.050 regional final | 197.729 average | 198.575 season high
Chance to Advance: 93.54%
Why It’ll Win: As the reigning national champion, the target is on LSU’s back heading into Fort Worth. The Tigers had some ups and downs in the regular season, partly due to the absence of Haleigh Bryant in the all around. In only her freshman season, Kailin Chio stepped up in Bryant’s absence and now that she is back in her mid-season form per Jay Clark, LSU’s lineups are at their strongest and it will be hungry to protect the crown.
Why It Won’t Win: Being in the evening session, the Tigers will face tough competition from UCLA and Utah as well as Michigan State, who was half a tenth away from taking the top spot in the regional final. A surge at any point coupled with any missteps could see the Tigers stumble.
Why It Would Be Cool If It Won: After becoming the eighth team to claim an NCAA title, LSU looks to go back-to-back and become the fifth team to win a team title in consecutive years.
No. 2 Oklahoma
Semifinal 1: Thursday, April 17 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Starting Event: Bars
Relevant Stats: 396.490 NQS | 198.450 regional final | 197.908 average | 198.475 season high
Chance to Advance: 97.70%
Why It’ll Win: Coming off their 15th straight regional title, the Sooners are ranked in the top three on all events heading into Fort Worth with No. 1 rankings on bars, beam, and floor. Employing five all-arounders was a strategy that many questioned, but KJ Kindler silenced the critics as Faith Torrez and Jordan Bowers have been a one-two punch in the all around, with freshmen Lily Pederson and Addison Fatta contributing early in their careers.
Why It Won’t Win: Despite the success the team had with five all-arounders, burnout is a possibility. The Sooners also have those lingering memories of their last appearance in Fort Worth, and they will have to face down those demons immediately in the afternoon session.
Why It Would Be Cool If It Won: Oklahoma would capture its seventh national championship in program history and would tie for the third-most NCAA titles alongside UCLA.
No. 3 Florida
Semifinal 1: Thursday, April 17 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Starting Event: Beam
Relevant Stats: 395.635 NQS | 197.700 regional final | 197.573 average | 198.625 season high
Chance to Advance: 79.40%
Why It’ll Win: Despite the challenges with injuries, the Gators have had a record-setting regular season. It was a slow start as they found a rhythm, but the emergence of Selena Harris-Miranda in the all around and the continued consistency of Leanne Wong led to a new NCAA record on bars at the SEC championship and the highest team score of the season, outpacing even Oklahoma and LSU.
Why It Won’t Win: Florida starts on beam in its semifinal, a risk for any team, but it’s an event where the Gators struggled the most with consistency as scores ranged from 48.250 to 49.700. Florida cannot count a miss to keep pace with other teams in this all-SEC semifinal.
Why It Would Be Cool If It Won: Florida’s gone a decade without a national championship, a win here would give it its fourth team title in program history.
In the Mix
No. 4 Utah
Semifinal 2: Thursday, April 17 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Starting Event: Beam
Relevant Stats: 395.605 NQS | 197.825 regional final | 197.390 average | 198.100 season high
Chance to Advance: 42.12%
Why It’ll Win: In its first season in the Big 12, Utah went undefeated in conference play and swept through its home regional to earn its spot at nationals for the 49th consecutive time. Grace McCallum took home conference Gymnast of the Year honors, but Makenna Smith emerged as a key contributor to the team, only falling one time all season. The evening session will bring some stiff competition, but the Red Rocks have the resiliency to push through and claim one of the spots in the finals.
Why It Won’t Win: All of Utah’s top scores have come in the state of Utah, so judging may not fall in its favor with a six-judge panel. The Red Rocks start and end their competition with their strongest events, but vault has been a glaring weakness all season. If there’s a miss, a season-high on bars may not be enough to send them to the finals.
Why It Would Be Cool If It Won: If you thought Florida’s ten-year drought was long, Utah hasn’t won a national title since 1995, before current assistant coach Myia Hambrick was born!
No. 5 UCLA
Semifinal 2: Thursday, April 17 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Starting Event: Floor
Relevant Stats: 395.305 NQS | 197.625 regional final | 197.398 average | 198.450 season high
Chance to Advance: 45.28%
Why It’ll Win: After a shocking elimination in the regional semifinals a year ago, UCLA is back in Fort Worth and has made significant strides in 2025. It is the No. 1 floor team in the country now, giving it an ideal starting event in the second semifinal. With Jordan Chiles and Brooklyn Moors finishing that event, the Bruins can make an immediate statement.
Why It Won’t Win: The matchups UCLA faces in the semifinals are not ideal. LSU defeated the Bruins earlier this season at the Sprouts’ Farmers Market Collegiate Quad while former conference rival Utah has bested them not once, but twice this season. UCLA defeated Michigan State in February, but it needed a 49.800 on floor to do so.
Why It Would Be Cool If It Won: UCLA would win its first championship as a member of the Big 10 and the first one for the conference since Michigan’s in 2021.
The Dark Horses
No. 7 Missouri
Semifinal 1: Thursday, April 17 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Starting Event: Floor
Relevant Stats: 394.960 NQS | 197.450 regional final | 197.229 average | 198.100 season high
Chance to Advance: 16.78%
Why It’ll Win: Qualifying to its fourth NCAA semifinal, Missouri has relied on experienced routines to propel its way to success. The Tigers have nabbed multiple transfers over the last two seasons that have made a major impact. On top of that, Shannon Welker managed to bring back Helen Hu for a fifth year, bringing consistency back to the beam lineup. The Tigers will start on floor, which is one of their best events, giving them an advantage in the first semifinal and an opportunity to advance to the finals.
Why It Won’t Win: The Tigers will have to fight against Oklahoma and Florida to advance, both of which defeated Missouri in the regular season and did so by margins over half a point. Both teams are also coming off scores in the 198s during regionals, a mark Missouri hit this season for the first time in program history.
Why It Would Be Cool If It Won: Missouri would become the ninth team in NCAA history to win a national championship.
No. 8 Michigan State
Semifinal 2: Thursday, April 17 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Starting Event: Vault
Relevant Stats: 395.360 NQS | 198.000 regional final | 197.208 average | 198.150 season high
Chance to Advance: 19.06%
Why It’ll Win: After being so close so many times before, Michigan State makes its first appearance at the semifinals since 1988. Mike Rowe’s team battled through a challenging conference schedule to finish second at Big 10s and was within a tenth of beating LSU at regionals, relying on a season high on vault to do so.
Why It Won’t Win: The Spartans have lacked some consistency this season and have yet to put together a complete meet. Beam and floor haven’t been kind to the Spartans this year and with Olympic order, they will have to finish on their weakest events. In a semifinal with LSU, UCLA, and Utah, Michigan State cannot make any major errors.
Why It Would Be Cool If It Won: An upset win here would give Michigan State its first national championship.
No. 12 Alabama
Semifinal 1: Thursday, April 17 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Starting Event: Vault
Relevant Stats: 394.880 NQS | 197.675 regional final | 196.935 average | 197.650 season high
Chance to Advance: 6.12%
Why It’ll Win: Alabama has been battle tested this season. The Crimson Tide were in danger of missing out on SECs as the ninth team, but started putting all the pieces together when it counted. They cleaned up issues on all four events and made a push in the last month of the season, led by Gabby Gladieux and Lilly Hudson.
Why It Won’t Win: Being the underdog with a low scoring ceiling doesn’t help their chances of advancing to finals. Alabama has yet to hit 198 this season, and that will likely be the score needed to take home the title.
Why It Would Be Cool If It Won: Alabama is searching for its seventh national title in program history and the first since 2012, when head coach Ashley Johnston was a senior on the team.
Team Final By the Numbers
Saturday, April 19 at 4 p.m. ET | ABC
| Event | Team |
| Vault | NQS 4 |
| Bars | NQS 2 |
| Beam | NQS 1 |
| Floor | NQS 3 |
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Article by Savanna Wellman and Brandis Heffner
