The presence of international gymnasts in the NCAA is celebrated, but due to their recruiting process often being more private than that of most American recruits, their commitments can come as a pleasant surprise. Here are 10 international recruits to get excited about early on who are at least considering joining an NCAA team in the future.
1. Ana Lucía Beitia (Panama)
A 2028 recruit, Beitia is sure to be an exciting gymnast to follow in the upcoming recruiting cycle. She competes difficult skills including a Tsukahara full on vault and a Jaeger on bars. Her score of 12.300 on beam at the Junior Pan American Games qualified her into the final, and her all-around performance at the 2025 Junior World Championships was the best of the Central and South American gymnasts.
2. Lola Chassat (France)
With first Ming Gherardi van Eijken and now Chassat, dare we hope to start seeing more French gymnasts on college teams? Beyond that possibility, Chassat is an incredibly exciting recruit in her own right. Her graceful and powerful gymnastics will likely have her coveted by most top teams. She placed fifth on bars at the Junior World Championships with a routine that included a Ricna and also won silver on beam at last year’s European Youth Olympic Festival. At the French Championships earlier that year, she placed in the top three on all events as well as the all-around, highlighting her strength across the board.
3. Dominica Escartín (Mexico)
Recently nominated to Mexico’s Pan American Championships team, Escartín is sure to have a busy year going straight from a significant senior meet into the beginning of her recruitment window. She is able to stick her Yurchenko full and has several skill options on the other events. Her piked Jaeger on bars and her full-twisting double tuck and double layout on floor are some standouts. She was the bronze medallist on both bars and floor at last year’s Junior Pan American Games.
4. Abigail Martin (England)
One of the bigger mysteries on this list, Martin mentioned at one point that she had taken a recruiting call with LSU, but it is uncertain where she stands on college at this point. While she graduates this year, it could be some time before we know whether she is planning on joining after the 2028 Olympics. Olympian, reigning world floor bronze medallist, British vault champion, and English all-around champion, there is no question that she could have a strong impact in the NCAA if she ends up choosing that path.
5. Anamaria Mihăescu (Romania)
The new influx of Romanian gymnasts joining the NCAA has by no means dampened the excitement when a new one is announced. Mihăescu represented Romania at the world championships last year after winning floor and the all-around at Romania’s trials. Her floor routine features a front double twist punch front, and her extensive elite experience will definitely be advantageous. With most of the class of 2027 already committed, it will be especially interesting to see where she ends up.
6. Jessica Schlegel (Germany)
A 2026 graduate who, if she defers, could be adversely affected by the new eligibility rules, Schlegel may be a great option for schools still looking for someone for the upcoming season. She recently upgraded her vault to a Yurchenko half-on, half-pike off, which has a 10.0 start value. Also the reigning national all-around bronze medallist, she is strong across the board. She scored a new career high on bars this year with a very clean routine and also won the beam title at the 2023 DTB Pokal.
7. Danica Signarowski (Canada)
After re-classifying from the class of 2025 to the class of 2026, Signarowski has used this year to prove how strong of a recruit she is. First winning the Western Canadian level 10 all-around title ahead of four-star Stefanie Gatin (Denver, ‘26), she also won beam and floor in the event finals of that same meet. She followed up that spectacular performance at nationals, where she won the all-around, bars, and beam across all age groups, as well as tied for second on floor. Whichever team manages to land her as a last-minute commit will be getting a gymnast at the top of her game.
8. Sophie St. John (Malta)
Despite being from one of the smallest countries in Europe, St. John has made a mark on the international stage. She was the beam silver medallist and vault bronze medallist at the 2025 Mediterranean Championships, and she placed in the top 20 on both beam and floor at the Junior World Championships soon after. While she has had some consistency issues on bars, she competes a lovely piked Jaeger and could see more success with a simpler NCAA routine.
9. Nikol Stoimenova (Bulgaria)
While she trains in the UK, Stoimenova represents her birth country of Bulgaria on the world stage. She won the bronze on beam at last year’s Varna World Challenge Cup and competed at the world championships. She struggled in her first meet of this year, but had a strong performance in beam qualifications at this year’s Varna World Challenge Cup. Since her gym, Lynx Aylesbury, recently suffered from a large fire, we are unsure whether to expect her at upcoming competitions, but we hope she is able to consistently train and compete again soon.
10. Yu-Jhih Wu (Chinese Taipei)
A 2023 Junior World Championships competitor and 2023 Junior Asian Championships all-around bronze medallist, Wu now primarily competes on the national level. The Taiwanese gymnast recently won gold on vault and silver on bars and floor at the national Middle School Games. While her vaults do not have high start values, she could be a solid three-eventer.
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Article by Gemma Selby
