Our recruit ratings make it easy to discover all-arounders who will lead their teams to NCAA success in the coming years. However, event specialists play an important role on college teams too, and these gymnasts may slip under the radar while being recruited. Each year we take the time to highlight uncommitted, three-star, and/or unrated gymnasts who excel on each event, and today, we’ll start with vault.
Class of 2026
Makayla Torres-Melton
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
College: Clemson
High Score: 9.825
Why She Stands Out: Torres-Melton debuted a Yurchenko one and a half in February, building well off of her very clean full from seasons prior. Her vault is dynamic and powerful, with a well-controlled landing that has clear potential to get even better with more repetition.
Gillian Durbin
Rating: NR
College: Southern Utah
High Score: 9.925
Why She Stands Out: The reigning Nevada state vault champion’s Yurchenko one and a half is clean, precise, and reliable. Durbin’s college-ready vault will bring valuable difficulty and an established pattern of consistency to Southern Utah come January.
Dru Thames
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
College: West Virginia
High Score: 9.825
Why She Stands Out: Thames competes a well-executed Yurchenko full-on pike off, standing out among her peers with her unique vault choice. Her vault will be a fantastic option for the Mountaineers, adding both difficulty and variety to West Virginia’s lineup on the event.
Class of 2027
Kennady Matthews
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
College: Uncommitted
High Score: 9.900
Why She Stands Out: Matthews’ Yurchenko half is full of potential, with an impressive track record of consistency and a well-controlled landing. She has struggled with injuries over the last several seasons and was only able to compete twice in 2026; however, what she was able to show was deeply impressive and should bring her attention in this recruiting cycle.
Darielis Aviles
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
College: Minnesota
High Score: 9.800
Why She Stands Out: Aviles’ Yurchenko full is clean and pretty to watch. Equally impressive is her level of consistency throughout 2026. Only her first vault of the season came in below a 9.725, with the remaining seven of her performances scoring within a 0.075 margin of each other.
Marin Bronski
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
College: Denver
High Score: 9.900
Why She Stands Out: Bronski’s Yurchenko one and a half improved steadily and reliably throughout 2026, as indicated by her continually resetting her event high score. Her vault is performed with strong technique already, and has the potential to grow even further with one more season of level 10 to go for the future Pioneer.
Class of 2028
Isabella Cox
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
College: Uncommitted
High Score: 10.000
Why She Stands Out: Cox, the sole holder of a 10.0 score on this list, vaults a dynamic and impressively precise Yurchenko one and a half. She is able to consistently find excellent landings, with sticks more prevalent than not, based on her 2026 competition footage.
Amaya Umphrey
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
College: Uncommitted
High Score: 9.850
Why She Stands Out: Umphrey competes a Yurchenko double full, going above and beyond with her difficulty. Her continued use of this vault and ability to perform it well speaks highly of her aptitude on the event and should serve her well in collegiate competition.
Aspen Foster
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
College: Uncommitted
High Score: 9.900
Why She Stands Out: Foster’s Yurchenko full is powerful, with a block that provides her with tremendous momentum coming off of the table. Her ability to vault with such strong dynamics bodes well for not only continued success with her full but also for potential future upgrades.
Lindsey Knox
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
College: Uncommitted
High Score: 9.900
Why She Stands Out: Knox performs a clean and well-landed Yurchenko one and a half, displaying impressive form and control within a valuable high-difficulty skill. With a recently earned national vault title, she should be confidently considered as one of the top vaulters in her class.
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Article by Brynn Robbins, Sarah Smith, and Claire Harmon
