Coming off another top-four finish at the national finals to keep with its historic streak, Utah is coming into the 2026 season missing some of its biggest names in its lineups. With the absence of four very important graduated seniors, Utah needs to look to its younger classes this year to bring in the big scores it grew accustomed to from Grace McCallum, Jaylene Gilstrap, and Amelie Morgan.
2025 Rewind
No. 4 overall | No. 1 at Big 12 | No. 4 in regular season | NCAA final
In its inaugural year in the Big 12, the Utes came away with the win by more than a point over the other three in the championship meet. Keeping with its historic streak of qualifying to the national final each year, Utah finished less than a quarter of a tenth behind Missouri and less than a point behind national champion Oklahoma. Although each event finished ranked within the top 10, the Utes came in sixth on both vault, an event that has historically been weaker for the team, as well as floor, where it hasn’t necessarily been weak but lacked the big 9.9+ scores from lead-off to anchor, which is where teams like Missouri and UCLA had it beat.
Losses & Gains
| RETURNING |
| Seniors: Ashley Glynn, Sarah Krump, Ana Padurariu, Makenna Smith |
| Juniors: Elizabeth Gantner, Olivia Kennedy, Camie Winger, Ella Zirbes |
| Sophomores: Zoe Johnson, Avery Neff, Clara Raposo, Poppy-Grace Stickler |
| IN |
| Freshmen: Norah Christian, Sage Curtis, Abbi Ryssman, Bailey Stroud |
| OUT |
| Graduated: Jaylene Gilstrap (VT/FX), Grace McCallum (AA), Amelie Morgan (UB/BB), Jaedyn Rucker |
| INJURY UPDATE |
| Stickler was out of the lineups last season due to an ankle injury but is back to training and hopeful to be a contributor this season on several events. |
Fresh Faces
Although only a class of four, it could be one that makes an enormous impact on the program and its lineups this season. Five-star recruits Ryssman and Stroud could be placed in any of the four lineups and have an immediate impact. Stroud has already reached perfection in her club career on bars and can hopefully bring this consistency over to the NCAA as well, especially with the loss of several excellent bar workers in the 2025 graduating class.
The Utes are also adding four-star recruit Christian, who is bringing in years of elite experience and could absolutely be slotted into an all-around position, especially with the loss of McCallum in those four lineups. Rounding out this class of four is Curtis, a three-star recruit whose 10.0 start value on vault will be a huge asset to the Utes this season.
Apparatus Deep Dive
Vault
2025 Event Ranking: No. 6 | NQS: 49.325 | Average: 49.266 | High: 49.425
| Event Overview: Vault has historically been the weakest event for the Utes – not to say there isn’t potential there, but it has not been an event Utah can rely on for one of its bigger event scores. | ||
| Locks: Ashley Glynn, Avery Neff, Makenna Smith, Ella Zirbes Returning these four vaults gives Utah a leg up from last season on this event. With the return of Glynn, who served as the vault anchor all of the 2025 season, as well as Smith, who is coming in with a previous NQS of 9.935, these two are certainly the consistent staples the Utes will be relying on. Neff has shown she can nail her Yurchenko one and a half, but with an ankle injury last season, she didn’t get as many opportunities to get those big scores as she would have liked. Coming in this season, her score will definitely be relied on with another year of strength and consistency under her belt. | ||
| Contenders: Norah Christian, Sage Curtis, Zoe Johnson, Bailey Stroud, Camie Winger Johnson is the only returner in this lineup, and definitely showed the impact she could have on this event, going over 9.925 twice last season. The other four contenders are made up of the incoming freshman class, any of which could slide into these open spots. Curtis is coming in as an event specialist, and this could be where she makes her mark in her debut season. | ||
| Wildcards: Clara Raposo, Abbi Ryssman Raposo has shown what she could bring on this event with a 10.0 start value vault, but without the numbers in competition from the previous season, as well as the amount of strong returners, it’s going to be hard for anyone to break into this lineup. |
Bars
2025 Event Ranking: No. 4 | NQS: 49.470 | Average: 49.427 | High: 49.650
| Event Overview: This has been a great event for the Utes over the past few seasons, but it will miss the experience and high scores of graduated seniors McCallum and Morgan this season. | ||
| Locks: Ashley Glynn, Avery Neff, Bailey Stroud, Makenna Smith, Ella Zirbes A majority of this lineup is returning this season, with Glynn and Smith leading the top returning scores. Neff with the ankle injury missed her opportunity to up her final NQS, but has shown she can get those big scores with the difficulty she brings to this event. Incoming freshman Stroud has scored a perfect 10.0 on this event previously in club and has shown some upgrades in the preseason that could be big for the Utes if they make it into competition. | ||
| Contenders: Ana Padurariu, Abbi Ryssman, Camie Winger Padurariu competed several times on this event last season, but struggled on her dismount. The good news is she’s been training a new dismount this fall, making her a contender to rejoin the top six. Ryssman brings a career best of 9.850 in level 10 to her name and has shown upgrades in the offseason. | ||
| Wildcards: Norah Christian, Zoe Johnson, Olivia Kennedy, Clara Raposo, Poppy-Grace Stickler Any one of these athletes could be put in this lineup and have an impact, whether it be from a sophomore that has yet to make their debut on this event, like Stickler, or an incoming freshman that could be an important addition to this lineup. |
Beam
2025 Event Ranking: No. 3 | NQS: 49.540 | Average: 49.319 | High: 49.625
| Event Overview: Beam has been the best event for the Utes for the past few seasons, and this year is already looking to be a strong one. Although losing McCallum and Morgan here as well, there are several strong athletes returning and coming in to make their debuts that should continue this strong streak. | ||
| Locks: Avery Neff, Ana Padurariu, Makenna Smith, Camie Winger Winger and Neff are the two top returners with identical NQSs of 9.915, and Smith is not far behind this mark with just under a 9.900 NQS, but brings some of the best consistency seen in the NCAA. | ||
| Contenders: Sage Curtis, Elizabeth Gantner, Abbi Ryssman, Bailey Stroud Any of these newcomers could come into the beam lineup and have an immediate impact, especially with two spots now open in the absence of McCallum and Morgan. Both Ryssman and Stroud are regional champions from their senior club seasons, and could absolutely be put into these two positions. | ||
| Wildcards: Norah Christian, Zoe Johnson, Clara Raposo, Poppy-Grace Stickler, Ella Zirbes Breaking into such a solid beam lineup is going to be a tall task, and getting into one of these positions would be a big accomplishment. Christian is one that brings in a plethora of skills from the elite stage that could make a perfect, clean NCAA routine, but needs to find consistency to be a good fit in this lineup. Stickler is another who was anticipated last season prior to her injury, so this could be the year she makes her debut on this event. |
Floor
2025 Event Ranking: No. 6 | NQS: 49.525 | Average: 49.435 | High: 49.625
| Event Overview: Floor is another event for Utah that is strong, but may not be as high scoring as it is for its competitors, explaining the no. 6 national ranking, even with the immense talent on this event. However, with the loss of McCallum and Gilstrap, this event may be the one that suffers the most this coming year. | ||
| Locks: Ashley Glynn, Avery Neff, Makenna Smith, Ella Zirbes These are four strong returners to this lineup, led by Smith with an NQS of 9.935. This needs to be an event where Utah starts as strong as it finishes in order to push it up in the rankings and make this an event it can count on to give it a big score. | ||
| Contenders: Norah Christian, Sage Curtis, Bailey Stroud Both Christian and Stroud would be great additions to this lineup and could bring in big scores these Utes need after their losses. Christian brings in several options for big E passes that could be a standout on this event, having previously competed a double-double, a double layout, and a double arabian, any of which would light up the Huntsman. | ||
| Wildcards: Zoe Johnson, Sarah Krump, Poppy-Grace Stickler, Camie Winger There is room to break into this lineup, but it is going to take big, clean routines that really stand out. Both Johnson and Krump made the floor lineup last season, so getting back in for these two may be more likely. |
Records Watch
Team: 198.600 | AA: 39.950 (Suzanne Metz) | VT: 49.775/10.0 (Jaedyn Rucker) | UB: 49.800/10.0 (Grace McCallum) | BB: 49.775/10.0 (Grace McCallum) | FX: 49.800/10.0 (Grace McCallum)
Setting or tying a new record is definitely going to be a tall task, seeing how high each of these marks are already. The current team record is a 198.500, which the Utes came within a half a point of last season, but with the absence of some big scorers, getting up to this mark this season may be more of a challenge than in previous years. However, with four strong freshmen coming in as well as athletes returning from injury or making their competitive debut, the Utes could have some underdog scorers that push them past these marks.
The Big Picture
Utah is going to have to deal with its losses this season, but it needs to find a way to minimize these absences in order to stay in competition with other teams on the rise. Smith and Neff are both going to be crucial to the success of the Utes this season, coming back as two of the top returners in the all-around. Their health, consistency, and experience throughout 2026 are going to give each lineup a good foundation to build on as it tries to fill in a couple of open positions. Looking to newcomers, Stroud could be in that third all-around position previously filled by McCallum, and could be especially impactful on bars and beam. This is a team with endless amounts of talent, but building on these lineups and finding the perfect new faces for these spots is going to be how Utah continues to find the success it has had for over fifty years.
Likely 2026 finish: National semifinals
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Article by Julianna Roland
