Following graduation, there are usually a few former NCAA gymnasts who move into gymnastics-adjacent roles like TV commentator or Cirque du Soleil performer. Others pursue more typical career paths, like becoming healthcare providers or lawyers. Many graduates, however, make the decision to stay on campus to join the ranks of college coaches. Before these 10 head coaches were donning school colors on the sidelines, they were setting records in leotards. Read on to learn more about how they etched their names in the history books.
Heather Brink (Nebraska)
Brink is a legendary Husker gymnast (1997-2000), and, since 2019, she’s served as Nebraska’s fifth head coach in program history. As a coach, she’s led Nebraska to regionals appearances in each of the last three seasons. But at the turn of the century, she twice made program history as an athlete. In February 2000, she was the first Nebraska gymnast to score a perfect 10, going on to earn a total of three in her career. Later that season, she won the NCAA all-around national title, the first female gymnast at Nebraska to do so. She also took home the vault title and, to cap off a stellar career, won the 2000 Honda Award. Competing as an elite gymnast before joining Nebraska, Brink was a two-time member of the US senior national team.
Sarah Brown (Penn State)
In 2024, Brown led the Nittany Lions to two major milestones: the team broke its program NQS record with a 196.825 and it qualified to regional finals for the first time in program history. As a student-athlete at Missouri (2008-2010), Brown–formerly Sarah Shire–blazed similar trails. After spending her freshman year at Utah, she moved home to Columbia, Mo. and joined the Tigers, making the hometown athlete a star. She received annual conference honors every year, first as Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year and then twice as Big 12 Gymnast of the Year. In 2009, she was the Big 12 champion in the all-around and on vault and beam; she successfully defended her all-around and vault titles the following year. She was a four-time All-American and a finalist for the 2010 Honda Award. When she graduated, she held the program record in the all-around, bars, and floor. And after all these years her all-around record still stands. Brown was also an elite gymnast before her collegiate career and was a four-time member of the US senior national team.
Lindsey Bruck Ayotte (New Hampshire)
The New Hampshire head coach has worked with two giants of NCAA gymnastics coaching: she competed under Bev Plocki at Michigan from 2004-2008, and she took over the Wildcat program in 2019, succeeding Gail Goodwin after her 40-year tenure as head coach. During her competitive career she was a two-time All-American and a four-time Big Ten All-Academic Team selection. In 2006, she took home two Big 10 conference titles, winning both the all-around and beam. In her senior year, she was a Honda Award Finalist and the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year.
Jessie DeZiel (UW-Eau Claire)
Before she joined UW-Eau Claire, DeZiel earned accolades as a Nebraska Husker (2012-2015). She was a nine-time All-American and a two-time Big Ten Champion, earning the title on floor in 2012 and on vault in 2013. She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2012 and bookended her career with annual honors when she was selected as the 2015 Nebraska Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She was an elite gymnast prior to matriculating at Nebraska, earning a gold medal as a member of the US team at the 2011 Pan American Games.
Ashley Johnston (Alabama)
In just a decade, Johnston went from performing the beam routine that clinched a national title for the Crimson Tide to becoming its seventh head coach. In addition to team glory, Johnston, who competed from 2009-2013 under her maiden name, Ashley Priess, was a 10-time All-American as well as the SEC Champion in the all-around and on beam, both in 2010. She was a four-year Scholastic All-American and appeared on the SEC Academic Honor Roll all five years of her career. She entered NCAA gymnastics after a successful elite career, highlighted by her role on the US’s 2006 world championship team, which won the silver medal.
Casey Jo MacPherson (Pittsburgh)
Before Jordyn Wieber’s landmark hire drew the spotlight to Arkansas, MacPherson was a cult favorite on the gymternet for her difficult and eye-catching beam routine. Formerly Casey Jo Magee, she competed for Arkansas from 2007-2010, where she was an eight-time All-American and the 2009 SEC Champion on beam, taking home Arkansas’ first ever conference championship along the way. She was also the runner-up for the all-around title at 2010 NCAA nationals and a four-time Academic All-SEC selection. As a senior, MacPherson matched and then broke the program’s all-around record; her high score remains in the top five. An athlete ahead of her time, she was one of the few female gymnasts in the pre-NIL era who returned to elite gymnastics after graduating. She competed at the 2011 US Classic and US National Championship, showing an upgraded version of her NCAA beam routine that included a triple turn.
Ashley Miles Greig (Iowa State)
Miles Greig made a recent entrance to gymnastics coaching, moving away from a successful automobile finance career to lead the Cyclones. When she competed for Alabama in the early aughts (2003-2006), she racked up two hands worth of championship rings, winning four national and six SEC individual titles. She was the national vault champion two years in a row (2003-2004) and scooped the title up again in her senior year. She was a 12-time All-American and scored 11 perfect 10s throughout her career. As the denouement of her storied career, she won the 2006 Honda Award. As an elite gymnast, she was a member of the US 2001 world championship team that earned a bronze medal.
Geralen Stack-Eaton (California)
The freshly minted Cal head coach was a standout member of the Alabama Crimson Tide (2009-2012), captaining the 2011 and 2012 teams all the way to the national championships. She also found individual success in the latter half of her college career, becoming the 2011 national champion on floor and the 2012 national champion on beam. She was a 12-time All-American and earned multiple SEC Academic Honor Roll awards.
Tabitha Yim (Stanford)
Yim was named head coach of her alma mater in 2017. She guided the team through the chaotic 2020 and 2021 seasons and then led its remarkable turnaround in 2022, when it finished the season at No. 14, 38 spots higher than the previous year. In her own time wearing the cardinal and white (2005-2008), Yim was a 14-time All-American and a two-time Pac-10 all-around champion. She also won the 2006 Pac-10 title on beam and was selected to the Pac-10 All-Academic first team as a senior. To wrap up her career, she was the 2008 Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year. Yim also had a successful elite career, earning a bronze medal with the US team at 2001 world championships and finishing fourth at the 2004 US Olympic Trials.
Guard Young (BYU)
Young’s ties to the Cougars run deep. Both his father and sister were BYU gymnasts, and he has been the head coach of the women’s program since the 2016 season. He competed for BYU in the twilight of the men’s program, from 1996-2000, but ensured his Cougars went out with a bang. In the 2000 season, its last as a men’s program, Young was the NCAA national all-around runner-up and successfully defended his national vault title. He ended his college career with six All-American honors, and he didn’t let closure of the BYU men’s team discourage him. He earned a spot on the 2004 US Olympic team and helped it take home a silver medal.
READ THIS NEXT: BREAKING: Geralen Stack‑Eaton Named Head Coach at California
Article by Diana Scroggins
