Introduction
One of the more exciting developments of post-COVID era gymnastics is the increased use of the transfer portal. Our transfer database has tracked all the known transfers from the past 18 years. The 2025 season saw 76 athletes transfer, the highest number recorded in the sport’s history. Whether a gymnast entered for a coaching change, to make more lineups, or even just for a change of pace, transferring athletes tend to flourish at their new schools. The feeling is mutual—many schools see immediate impacts in their lineups from offseason portal additions. The College Gym News data team sought out to identify the most impactful transfers from the 2025 season.
Methodology
Data editor Emma Hammerstrom first compiled a list of all 76 transfer athletes and their scores from the 2023 to 2025 seasons. She also compiled event highs and averages for all NCAA teams, as well as their 2024 and 2025 overall rankings. Gymnasts without at least a 9.8 high score on any event in 2025 were removed, leaving 38 transfer gymnasts to analyze. She then took the average of each gymnast’s ranking within the following three categories: school’s change in ranking from 2024 to 2025; maximum 2025 score, and total points contributed to their 2025 team. She chose to analyze the eight highest-ranked gymnasts. They are listed in order of their ranking within this methodology.
Most Impactful Transfers
Skylar Killough-Wilhelm (Washington to Kentucky)
Killough-Wilhelm boasted a top-three NQS on every event for the Wildcats in 2025, including their best on the uneven bars. The graduation of Raena Worley left a massive hole in Kentucky’s lineups, but Killough-Wilhelm filled them without a problem. She put up 501.275 total points for her team in 2025, the most of any of her teammates. The Iowa native was the top all-arounder on a talented team, competing all-around in 12 out of 13 meets. She only fell twice in 2025.
Selena Harris-Miranda (UCLA to Florida)
Harris-Miranda was the most discussed transfer over this past offseason after her shocking departure from UCLA. Despite the chatter and rumors that swarmed social media during her transfer process, she picked up without a beat at Florida. It is nearly impossible to make Florida lineups without some serious talent, but Harris-Miranda competed all-around in all but one meet for the Gators. She set a season all-around high of 39.8750 against Kentucky in March, which was the highest score any Gator put up in the all-around in 2025 (including Leanne Wong and Sloane Blakely). She boasted the highest Gator NQS on vault and the second highest NQS on every other event. She only scored under 9.800 three times in 55 routines.
Elise Tisler (Towson to Missouri)
An undervalued part of competitiveness in the NCAA is stability in early lineup spots. It is essential to have high-scoring routines in the first half of the lineup to provide a solid foundation to build scores upon. Tisler filled this role for the Tigers in their third–place finish in 2025. Despite dealing with injuries for part of the season, Tisler was the floor leadoff that Missouri needed after Sienna Schreiber graduated. Even though she downgraded from her Yurchenko 1.5 on vault, she consistently put up 9.800+ scores that laid the foundation for Amari Celestine, Jocelyn Moore, and Hannah Horton to score big after her. She put up 215.825 total points for a talented Missouri team that earned its best finish in program history.
Hannah Appleget (Lindenwood to Central Michigan)
Appleget was an integral part of Central Michigan’s MAC championship win in 2025. She earned her career high all-around score at that championship, putting up a 9.900 on floor to cap off a season high event total of 49.425 for the Chippewas. Oh, and she won the all-around title there too. She put up 405.475 points for Central Michigan this year, an outstanding feat for her first Division I season ever.
Kyrstin Johnson (Talladega to Temple)
Johnson was forced to transfer after Talladega cut its gymnastics program in 2024. She’s known for her expressive choreography and clean tumbling, so it’s no wonder that she quickly found a home with the Temple Owls. She was the team’s best vaulter in 2025, putting up a 9.900 with her explosive Yurchenko 1.5 at an away meet in March.
Alex Irvine (UCLA to Auburn)
Irvine started her career at UCLA with two back-to-back bars falls. Transferring to Auburn seemed to be a breath of fresh air, becoming a bars staple for the Tigers in 2025. She didn’t fall a single time in any of the eleven bars routines that she competed. In fact, she never scored below a 9.800. She put up 118.55 points for Auburn over the course of the season on bars alone. She is the only specialist to be featured on this list.
Csenge Bácskay (Nebraska to Georgia)
Bácskay brought experience and consistency to Georgia in 2025, traits that likely caught Cecile Landi’s eye when recruiting the former Husker gymnast. Bácskay upgraded to a Yurchenko 1.5 after only competing the full for the previous two seasons. She never scored below a 9.800 on vault for the entirety of 2025. She also upgraded to a tucked full in on floor, scoring as high as 9.925 amidst a talented GymDog lineup. She put up 254.55 total points for Georgia in 2025.
Mati Waligora (Alabama to Arkansas)
Waligora consistently put up big scores in her five years with the Alabama Crimson Tide. She picked up without a hitch after her transfer to Arkansas, putting up 283.8 points across bars, beam, and floor for the Razorbacks. She scored a 9.900 or above twelve times across the course of the season, including an away meet where she put up a 9.925 or above on all three of her events.
Looking Ahead:
Out of the eight gymnasts featured in this article, five will return to the competition floor in 2026. While Kentucky loses a key all-arounder in Killough-Wilhelm, they gain newly minted five-star recruit Gabriella van Frayen. She shines on beam and can slot into the all-around as well. Arkansas has multiple lineup spots to fill following Waligora’s graduation, but the Razorbacks will have plenty of options to choose from in their second ranked incoming freshman class. Finally, although Central Michigan will miss Appleget’s consistency in the all-around, incoming four-star recruit Alexandra Reddick should be able to slot into those lineup spots in 2026.
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Article by Emma Hammerstrom
