2024 NCAA gymnastics is so last season; it’s time to look ahead at what’s in store for 2025, including which teams are the very early favorites for the postseason.
Bear in mind, these predictions are called “way too early” for a reason! A lot can a will change in the next seven months, including additions to the coaching carousel, new commitments, transfers, retirements, injuries, recoveries, and of course, fifth-year announcements.
On that point, yes, we’ve heard the same chatter about likely fifth-year announcements as everyone else. Until the rumors are confirmed by the actual gymnasts or teams, we can’t factor speculation (however credible) into the rankings.
1. LSU
Final 2024 Ranking: 1
Haleigh Bryant—gym slammer and winner of the NCAA all-around title, team title, and AAI Award—was without a doubt the nation’s top collegiate gymnast in 2024, making her decision to return a gigantic net gain for LSU. The Tigers still have a handful of important routines to replace, but retaining four of the country’s best sets from one of the most consistent athletes in the sport alleviates some of the pressure. A quartet of four and five-star recruits all with extensive elite experience will give LSU another season with lengthy depth charts, even if none of those potential fifth-year announcements come to pass.
2. Florida
Final 2024 Ranking: 4
It’s shaping up to be a tight race between a trio of SEC squads for the No. 1 spot. Each brings in strong rookie classes and returns key postseason routines, but it’s 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year Kayla DiCello who will be the difference-maker for the Gators. In addition to lineup-ready routines from five-star recruits Lily Bruce and Skye Blakely, DiCello returns proven success on all four events as she shined in her lone NCAA season in 2023 before deferring to make a run at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Jenny Rowland is going to have ample routines to choose from on every event, including superstar Leanne Wong; if there’s room on the roster for a Victoria Nguyen fifth-year, Florida will lose zero routines from its 2024 championship lineups.
3. Oklahoma
Final 2024 Ranking: 6
The Sooners have dominated the Big 12 since its current roster was still in Mommy and Me classes, but they will face a good bit more resistance from an uber-stacked field of SEC teams. They’ll be coming into their new conference with an ax to grind after a disappointing showing at the NCAA championships, which may be enough to catapult them to another record-setting season (though we wouldn’t be disappointed if further motivation came in the form of an in-conference rivalry with reigning national champion LSU). For now, the biggest question mark is how they’ll replace the collective 11 routines from Ragan Smith, Katherine LeVasseur, and Audrey Davis. A killer freshman class featuring a trio of five-star recruits to complement all-around stars Jordan Bowers and Faith Torrez should certainly help.
4. Utah
Final 2024 Ranking: 3
If you have to lose a pair of all-time greats like Maile O’Keefe and Abby Paulson, countering with a recruiting class of three five-star recruits and the highest-rated recruit ever certainly helps lessen the blow. Avery Neff, the aforementioned top recruit, fills four lineup holes immediately, as she’s expected to lead the 2025 Freshman of the Year conversation. Neff, alongside Grace McCallum, should easily keep the Utes in the championship hunt. Carly Dockendorf did a remarkable job in her first year leading the charge despite the rocky offseason, andshe will undoubtedly lead the Red Rocks to more success as her head coaching career progresses.
5. California
Final 2024 Ranking: 2
Mya Lauzon and eMjae Frazier both spent a lot of time top 10 of the all-around rankings this season and will be the reason why the Golden Bears will once again be in the championship mix. Their title hopes took a bit of a hit with the announcement of five-star recruit Ondine Achampong’s ACL tear that could impact her NCAA debut, but California only has to contend with a handful of lost routines and should expect a few useable sets from the rest of its recruiting class, including from one of the highest-rated four-stars, CJ Keuneke.
6. UCLA
Final 2024 Ranking: 17
Assuming Jordan Chiles does return to Westwood as expected following her attempt at a second Olympic Games, the Bruins will be able to survive the loss of heavy-hitters Chae Campbell and Nya Reed with four sets from Chiles and their six-person incoming freshman class. Ana Padurariu is also set for a collegiate comeback after spending a year training to compete for Team Canada, despite unfortunately getting injured in the process, with her bars and beam sets the possible key to stabilizing lineups that were often shaky for UCLA throughout 2024. Without Chiles, the Bruins’ stock will drop, but regardless of her choice, they’re set to challenge for a conference title in their debut season in the Big Ten.
7. Arkansas
Final 2024 Ranking: 7
The Razorbacks’ upset bid to nationals was likely just foreshadowing what’s to come; they’re primed for a standout 2025, losing just a single routine from their postseason lineups and adding high-profile recruit Joscelyn Roberson—the World Champion in the thick of the race for the U.S. Olympic team. Roberson will add elite-level difficulty to at least the vault and floor lineups, her signature events, fitting right into head coach Jordyn Wieber’s specialist-heavy strategy that proved so effective in 2024. Arkansas will start the season on the right side of the nationals bubble for the first time in over a decade.
8. Missouri
Final 2024 Ranking: 11
Missouri seems to have taken Kentucky’s place as the team that always draws the short end of the regionals bracket, but the Tigers’ stock is on a steep rise following incoming freshman Olivia Kelly’s show-stopping performance at level 10 regionals, Finnish elite Kaia Tanskanen’s strong showing at the European championships, and Oklahoma’s Amy Weir announcing her transfer to Columbia. Factor in the rest of this impressive freshman class, plus the return of sophomore all-arounder Addison Lawrence, and the Tigers are primed to claw their way up the national rankings and play spoiler in a deep SEC conference.
9. Michigan State
Final 2024 Ranking: 14
Working in the Spartans’ favor heading into next season is the loss of just one regular routine from their Big Ten regular season and championship meet roster, meaning it won’t be a tough task to build upon their historic season. Five-star recruit Amy Doyle is going to join the bunch and, if fully healthy, will be an option on every event to bolster Michigan State’s depth in its berth to challenge newbie UCLA for conference titles. The Spartans were a nationals threat this season, and we should expect nothing less from them in 2025.
10. Alabama
Final 2024 Ranking: 8
Turnover is the headline for the Crimson Tide this offseason, as they’re currently losing half of their routines from championships—including those from five-year star Luisa Blanco—as well as highly regarded assistant coach Gina Quinlan. Alabama has had top-rated recruiting classes in recent years but has been slow to introduce them to competition lineups with so many upperclassmen. With another touted class of four- and five-star recruits incoming and lots of lineup holes to fill, the coaching staff will have to switch up its M.O. to stay competitive in the SEC. Still, at the end of the day the talent is there to remain a fixture in the national top 10.
11. Kentucky
Final 2024 Ranking: 9
Even if Missouri is the “new” Kentucky, the Wildcats haven’t fallen far, as their crop of recruits are capable of keeping them in the nationals conversation. Replacing Arianna Patterson, Bailey Bunn, and especially Raena Worley will take some work, but Delaynee Rodriguez and Cadence Gormely look hungry to step into starring roles as sophomores. Plus, three-star recruit Anna Flynn Cashion is one to watch—her front handspring pike half on vault makes her a natural fit to replace Patterson deep in the vault lineup.
12. Auburn
Final 2024 Ranking: 20
The losses of linchpins Cassie Steves and Aria Brusch hurt, as they were instrumental in keeping the Tigers nationally relevant post-Sunisa Lee, but Auburn is bringing in a solid bunch of recruits to give this roster the talent to make a run at the top 10. Five-star Oliva Ahern is an name to remember—as is Katelyn Jong, who you’ll see in the run-up to the Olympics—with fifth-year options from Olivia Hollingsworth and Gabby McLaughlin crucial in keeping most of Auburn’s lineups intact despite those key departures.
13. Stanford
Final 2024 Ranking: 5
The Cardinal have to cope with losing their top four routines of 2024 from Chloe Widner, along with a few others, but have a second-straight heavyweight recruiting class on the way with a quartet of four-stars set to be the supporting cast for five-star Ui Soma. Soma has an outside shot at representing Japan in Paris this summer while former U.S. elite Levi Jung-Juivivar has clinched a berth for the Philippines. Stanford strung together upsets to make nationals in 2024 after finishing the regular season ranked 19th, but it should have an easier path to the postseason as a seeded team in 2025. It’s also the biggest threat to its Bay Area rival, Cal, for the ACC title in their inaugural season in the conference.
14. Minnesota
Final 2024 Ranking: 12
Mya Hooten, the face of this Minnesota for the last two seasons, has opted in favor of a bonus year, which raises the bar in 2025, as the Gophers welcome a small but fierce rookie class that includes a trio of four- and five-star recruits. The headliner, Ava Stewart, could head into her collegiate debut following an appearance for Team Canada at the Olympics. She’s capable of absorbing a few of the lineup holes created by departing Gophers.
15. Ohio State
Final 2024 Ranking: 13
The Buckeyes are bringing in one of their strongest recruiting classes ever, with a trio of four-star recruits ready to make an immediate impact on lineups. They’ll have the opportunity to shine early with a number of lineup holes to plug, plus stalwarts Payton Harris and Tory Vetter, who bring ample experience leading Ohio State despite only just now reaching upperclassmen status. Expect Harris to challenge the likes of UCLA’s Selena Harris for top all-arounder in the Big Ten.
16. Oregon State
Final 2024 Ranking: 21
After a lackluster 2024 season, expect the Beavers to make a jump back up to challenging for a nationals seed after losing just two routines from their season-ending lineups. They’ll also presumably have superstar Jade Carey, now able to focus on her collegiate prospects rather than defending an Olympic gold medal (though we selfishly hope she keeps the Chuso as her opening pass on floor). Oregon State’s duo of incoming four-star recruits is more than capable of picking up where graduated routines left off, but the biggest question surrounding the Beavers this offseason is what their future looks like without any current conference affiliation.
17. Georgia
Final 2024 Ranking: 18
The GymDogs are the year’s biggest question mark, but the splashy new staff of co-head coaches Ryan Roberts and Cecile Canqueteau-Landi (Simone Biles’ current coach), alongside assistants Marissa King and Oleksii Koltakov, has injected some much-needed hope and vigor into this flagging Georgia program. There’s no shortage of talent in Athens, as evidenced by 2024 College Gym News and SEC Freshman of the Year Lily Smith’s performance at nationals, where she finally put all the pieces together to place top 15 in the all-around. At long last, there is reason to be optimistic about the program with the most NCAA championships in the sport.
18. Michigan
Final 2024 Ranking: 19
An early exit in its home regional was not the end Michigan wanted for its stellar departing class that included Naomi Morrison, Gabby Wilson, and former AAI Award winner Sierra Brooks, as well as Jenna Mulligan, but its final ranking may be indicative of what to expect from the Wolverines in 2025. Michigan currently boasts the top recruiting class in the country with a duo of five-stars and a trio of fours but has struggled to get newcomers into competition lineups in recent years, leaving the rookies’ potential impact still up in the air. There are lots of holes to fill and only a handful of returnees ever having competed regularly—and on no more than an event or two each—but the overall talent of this roster keeps the Wolverines in the top 20 for now. Plus, if we’ve learned anything from 2024, it’s that what a team looks like on paper may or may not translate to real-world competition.
19. Towson
Final 2024 Ranking: 32
Don’t let the final ranking fool you, as the Tigers finished the regular season ranked 21st before a regionals performance that was unrepresentative of their year as a whole. Towson will be 2025’s mid-major team to watch, as it retains its vital routines and adds a top-25 recruiting class to the mix. The Tigers’ top recruit, four-star Ava Harper, is expected to make her biggest impact on their weakest event, beam, making Towson dangerous in the season to come. And if you don’t already, Isabella Minervini is a name to know after she finished fourth in NQS this season on bars.
20. Denver
Final 2024 Ranking: 10
Like Michigan, Denver is set for a serious drop-off, as it will lose the majority of its competition routines and depth from the 2024 season. Key gymnasts like Rosie Casali, Abbie Thomson, and Rylie Mundell have the option to return, which would significantly improve the Pioneers’ 2025 outlook, but without a single-rated recruit set to join the roster (which currently only includes 11 gymnasts total), the current projections are dicey at best. However, Denver always seems to find a way to be in the conversation, so it would be foolish to count the Pioneers out completely. [Editor’s Note: This article was originally published prior to the team’s official announcement that Casali, Mundell, Thompson, and Bella Mabanta will be returning for a fifth year.]
Honorable Mentions
Penn State, Washington, N.C. State, Clemson, Boise State
The Wolfpack and Tigers figure to be the biggest threats to the ACC newcomers in the conference race, as Clemson brings back nearly all of its postseason routines and N.C. State has a solid core of incoming freshmen. Penn State and Washington both have bigger net gains than losses when comparing lost routines to incoming potential, while Emily Lopez’s fifth-year return will be important for Boise State in pushing for the top 25. College gymnastics went sans Shchennikova in 2024, with Alyonna’s injury keeping her from LSU lineups, but younger sister Kristina is set to make her debut for the Broncos, where she can make an impact on her family’s trademark event—bars.
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