CGN Awards

2025 College Gym News Awards Announced

College Gym News is proud to announce its fifth annual end-of-season award recipients. Members of the CGN staff nominated individuals and staff in 11 categories based on specified criteria. Then, the field was narrowed down and editors voted. Individuals cannot win more than one award. You can find the categories, winners, and remaining nominees below.

Gymnast of the Year

CGN Awards Jade Carey

Winner: Jade Carey (Oregon State)

Nominees: Faith Torrez (Oklahoma), Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma), Leanne Wong (Florida), Selena Harris-Miranda (Florida)

Criteria: Nominees didn’t just top the standings but were a significant contributor throughout the season for their team. Nominees rarely had missteps and consistently produced top scores that made an impact. They stand out from their peers.

Jade Carey was untouchable in 2025, once again proving herself as the most dominant all-arounder in NCAA gymnastics. She scored a near-perfect 39.925 this season and tallied four perfect 10s—three on floor and one on beam—on her way to qualifying for the national championships yet again. Carey brought consistency, difficulty, and star power to every meet, carrying Oregon State with her elite-level routines and unwavering leadership.

NCGA Gymnast of the Year

CGN Awards Olivia Keyes

Winner: Olivia Keyes (Rhode Island College)

Nominees: Erin Roe (Ursinus), Jamie Beatty (UW-Stout), Kiara Hockman (Brockport)

Criteria: Nominees didn’t just top the standings but were a significant contributor throughout the season for their NCGA team. Nominees rarely had missteps and consistently produced top scores that made an impact. They stand out from their peers.

Olivia Keyes was the cornerstone of Rhode Island College’s historic season, helping the team qualify for the NCGA national championships for the first time since 1998. A reliable all-arounder from start to finish, Keyes brought standout performances across all four events, with season highs of 9.900 on floor, 9.800 on beam, and 9.725 on bars. Her poise and consistency played a pivotal role in RIC’s breakout year on the national stage.

WCGNIC Gymnast of the Year

CGN Awards Morgan Price

Winner: Morgan Price (Fisk)

Nominees: Abigail Kenney (Bridgeport), Kaitlyn Hoiland (Texas Woman’s), Taylor Ingle (SEMO)

Criteria: Nominees didn’t just top the standings but were a significant contributor throughout the season for their WCGNIC-eligible team. Nominees rarely had missteps and consistently produced top scores that made an impact. They stand out from their peers.

Morgan Price continued her trailblazing path in 2025, turning heads with scores that rivaled even the top DI gymnasts. She scored her first perfect 10 on bars, recorded an impressive all-around high of 39.500, and repeated as national all-around champion. With season bests of 9.925 on vault, 9.900 on beam, and 9.925 on floor, Price was a dominant force and a powerful ambassador for HBCU gymnastics, building momentum and visibility for Fisk’s groundbreaking program.

Freshman of the Year

CGN Awards Kailin Chio

Winner: Kailin Chio (LSU)

Nominees: Avery Neff (Utah), Chloe Cho (Illinois), Joscelyn Roberson (Arkansas), Lily Pederson (Oklahoma)

Criteria: Nominees must be a true freshman during the 2025 season. They are gymnasts who not only consistently produced top scores but made an impact on their team and stand out from their peers.

Kailin Chio didn’t just lead the freshman class—she ranked among the best all-arounders in the country overall. With a career-high 39.800 and event bests including a perfect 10 on vault, 9.950s on both bars and beam, and a 9.975 on floor, Chio quickly became a rock for LSU. Early in the season, when Haleigh Bryant was sidelined from the all-around, Chio stepped up and delivered massive scores to keep the Tigers on track toward securing the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Coaching Staff of the Year

CGN Awards Missouri   CGN Awards Arizona

Winner: Arizona & Missouri

Nominees: Georgia, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Rutgers, UCLA, West Virginia

Criteria: Nominees first and foremost coached their team to athletic success, whether that means a large improvement over past seasons or record-breaking performances.

The Arizona coaching staff’s long-term vision came to life in 2025. After years of smart recruiting and steady development, the Wildcats had a breakthrough season that included a regionals upset to make it to round two and a sweep of in-state rival Arizona State—not just once, but three times. Arizona also claimed its first Territorial Cup win since 2016. It was a season of milestones, and the staff’s steady leadership made it all possible.

The Missouri coaching staff’s savvy approach and bold offseason moves paid major dividends in 2025. After expertly navigating the transfer portal and continuing to develop existing talent, the Tigers put together a historic season—breaking new ground by advancing to the night session of SECs for the first time ever, qualifying to nationals for the first time since 2022, and finishing third for the best result in school history by any women’s team. Missouri also hit a major program milestone by earning its first-ever 198 team score and saw Helen Hu named SEC Specialist of the Year. It was a year of firsts fueled by strategic leadership and a clear vision for success.

NCGA Coaching Staff of the Year

CGN Awards Rhode Island College

Winner: Rhode Island College

Nominees: Brockport, Cortland, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Whitewater

Criteria: Nominees first and foremost coached their NCGA team to athletic success, whether that means a large improvement over past seasons or record-breaking performances.

Rhode Island College’s coaching staff made history by guiding the team to its first NCGA national championship appearance since 1998. The Anchormen capped the season with a fifth-place finish out of six national qualifiers, a massive leap for a still-young program. Their clear vision and athlete development turned heads and put RIC firmly on the NCGA map.

WCGNIC Coaching Staff of the Year

CGN Awards Texas Woman's

Winner: Texas Woman’s

Nominees: Alaska, Bridgeport, Fisk, Greenville

Criteria: Nominees first and foremost coached their WCGNIC-eligible team to athletic success, whether that means a large improvement over past seasons or record-breaking performances.

Texas Woman’s delivered clarity and dominance in a year full of change and questions for the WCGNIC. The 12-time USAG national champion added another title to its collection by winning the inaugural WCGNIC title. Even more impressively, TWU remained in the conversation for a regionals berth deep into the season—an uncommon and extraordinary feat for a Division II program. The team’s focus and polish were a testament to its coaching staff’s expertise.

Breakout Performer of the Year

CGN Awards Brooklyn Moors   CGN Awards Kayli Boozer

Winner: Brooklyn Moors (UCLA) & Kayli Boozer (Michigan)

Nominees: Amelia Moneymaker (UC Davis), Cecilia Cooley (Denver), Josie Bergstrom-Te Slaa (Iowa State)

Criteria: Nominees are sophomores, juniors, or seniors who were particularly successful in 2025 after not having competed, having only competed one or two events, or having only received mediocre scores to start their careers. Nominees “came out of nowhere” on events they weren’t expected to contribute, started getting scores much higher than previous averages, or finally added events you didn’t know they were even training.

Brooklyn Moors has always been known for her elegance, but in 202,5 she took her gymnastics to an entirely new level. She hit 9.900 or higher in all 14 of her floor appearances—including her first career perfect 10—and posted season highs of 9.925 on vault and 9.900 on beam. After a quieter start to her career, Moors became one of the most reliable and captivating performers in the country this season, capping it off by winning the national title on floor.

Kayli Boozer became a breakout star for Michigan in 2025, stepping up in a season full of transition and uncertainty for the Wolverines. With several key contributors from past years gone, Boozer emerged as a rock-solid presence in the lineups—and not just as a placeholder. She made massive strides in her gymnastics, overcoming a vault mental block to not only return to competition but thrive, earning a spot in the lineup with a strong Yurchenko full. Her season highs of 9.900 on vault and floor and 9.950 on beam underscored just how far she’d come after not competing at all in 2024.

Comeback Gymnast of the Year

CGN Awards Helen Hu

Winner: Helen Hu (Missouri)

Nominees: Anna Leigh (West Virginia), Cecilia Cooley (Denver), Lauren Letszch (Oregon State)

Criteria: Nominees missed at least the majority of the 2024 season and didn’t just start competing again in 2025, but did so well, producing effective scores for their teams.

Helen Hu wasn’t on a roster—and wasn’t even doing gymnastics—in 2024. But after spending time abroad, she returned in 2025 and had the best beam season of her career. Hu earned three perfect 10s, all on the road, and added seven more scores of 9.900 or better, never dropping below a 9.800. Her calm presence and masterful execution were key to Missouri qualifying for nationals, and her comeback story was one of the most compelling of the year. She capped off the season and her career with a national title on beam and a third-place finish with her team.

Most Valuable Gymnast

CGN Awards Maggie Slife

Winner: Maggie Slife (Air Force)

Nominees: Carly Bauman (Michigan), Delaney DeHaan (George Washington), Emma Spence (Nebraska), Jade Carey (Oregon State), Kendall Whitman (George Washington), Makenna Smith (Utah)

Criteria: Nominees’ teams wouldn’t have had the success they did this season without them. They were lifted up by not only their scores but also their leadership and attitude. Think of gymnasts on teams with lots of injuries, gymnasts who always seemed to hit after falls, or gymnasts not on teams with lots of other star power.

Maggie Slife was the heart and soul of Air Force gymnastics in 2025, embodying everything it means to be a Most Valuable Gymnast. As the Falcons’ lone qualifier to NCAA regionals, she didn’t just represent her team—she set a program all-around record and nearly advanced to nationals. Her 9.900 on beam was a career high, and she led the team in top scores on bars and floor throughout the season, all while competing in the all-around week in and week out. Slife’s consistency, leadership, and ability to deliver under pressure made her indispensable. Air Force wouldn’t have been the same without her anchoring the squad.

Sports Information Director of the Year

CGN Awards Lindsey Magness

Winner: Lindsey Magness (Oklahoma)

Nominees: Alyssa Leal (LSU), Brittany Evans (Denver), Mary Howard (Florida), Mike Murphy (New Hampshire), Ryan Cullinane (Missouri), Tim Geer (Brown)

Criteria: Nominees are individuals who can be described as responsive, attentive to the media’s needs, maintain the team website (are always timely when adding coverage links), and even go above and beyond their job description when setting up interviews or providing necessary information.

Lindsey Magness is everything you want in an SID—timely, proactive, and always thinking about how to support both media and fans. She’s incredibly responsive and quick to provide information that’s often hard to track down. Whether it’s helping coordinate interviews, promoting the program on social media, or ensuring those covering the team have what they need, Magness is always a step ahead. NCAA gymnastics coverage is stronger thanks to people like her, and we are beyond grateful to have her in our corner.

“SIDs like Lindsey Magness make our job a thousand times easier! NCAA gymnastics has flourished in recent seasons, and we love having people like Lindsey in our corner and helping us with the access and getting information we need to continue doing what we do.”

“Working with Alyssa Leal is always a pleasure. She’s always willing and able to help us with every aspect of covering LSU. Having worked with her in Baton Rouge, you can tell she truly enjoys what she does, and I’m so thankful for her help!”

Mary Howard is very knowledgeable about the sport and its many years of history at UF. She always has interesting and unique statistics/facts to share in her releases, which can add color to our coverage. She also does a great job with meet logistics.”

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mike Murphy ever since I started covering the EAGL, both with CGN and later as the SID for the conference. He has always been extremely personable and attentive to my needs. He is knowledgeable about the sport and a huge asset to coverage of both New Hampshire and NCAA gymnastics in general.”

Ryan Cullinane has truly elevated the SID game at Missouri right alongside the program’s rise in the NCAA ranks. He’s consistently on top of sharing team updates and goes above and beyond to ensure media have regular access to the athletes and coaches. From setting up interview opportunities throughout the postseason to always being responsive and accommodating, Ryan is setting the standard. As Missouri grows into a national powerhouse, Ryan is helping bring the access up to that level, too.”

Tim Geer is always accommodating with my requests for Brown. He is so helpful whether it’s setting up interviews, providing credentials for meets, or helping answer any questions I might have.”

READ THIS NEXT: Sooner Seniors Bid Farewell with Program’s Seventh National Title


Article by Elizabeth Grimsley

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.