Ranking teams in the preseason is an exercise in educated guesswork, as squads build momentum during the offseason without perfect 10s and NQS data to use. Between transfer portal wins, international medal-winning elite performances, and rosters that quietly leveled up, momentum has already begun to separate a handful of title contenders from the pack. These rankings take stock of which teams did the most to push their stock upward ahead of 2026, rather than rehashing last season’s results. With familiar powerhouses reloading and rising programs refusing to slow down, the road to the national title is already taking shape.
1. Florida
Between roster returnees, transfers, newcomers, and injury comebacks, the Gators’ roster in 2026 will be as stacked as ever with household names, and Jenny Rowland will, once again, have them as a title contender. Florida is now facing a decade-long title drought after taking home three-straight from 2013-2015, despite being a true contender every year since.
After competing just bars in her freshman season, Skye Blakely is primed to add much more value after competing for Team USA at world championships over the summer, and fellow elite and world champion Kayla DiCello is ready to return after a collegiate gymnastics hiatus since the 2023 season. Add in a freshman class loaded with former four- and five-star recruits, as well as former Golden Bear eMjae Frazier, who finished third in the all-around by NQS in 2024, and the Gators have all the tools they need to nab NCAA title number four.
2. LSU
In addition to continuing its strong recruiting tradition, the Tigers added a trio of wins via the transfer portal in the offseason, headlined by Madison Ulrich—a former five-star recruit and top-30 all-arounder for Denver over the past two seasons. After losing two key all-arounders, Ulrich’s addition is impactful, as she should slot in immediately as the second steady four-eventer behind Kailin Chio, who finished top five in NQS in her rookie season. Giving them one of the deepest rosters of the title contenders, the Tigers also add four former five-star recruits to the mix, setting LSU up to contend for its second NCAA championship just two seasons removed from its first title.
3. UCLA
Rivaling Florida for the flashiest offseason is reigning runner-up UCLA, which had superstar Jordan Chiles on the minds of Americans all year long after following up her incredible collegiate season with a third-place finish on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. Adding to that were the elite successes of its deep freshman class, with Ashlee Sullivan, Tiana Sumanasekera, and Nola Matthews all winning medals in international competitions in 2025. Down to its rookies, this Bruins roster is seasoned, giving it plenty of opportunity to make noise in the title conversation despite introducing a large group of collegiate newcomers. The forecast was cloudy for UCLA entering 2025, but in 2026, expectations are high from the get-go.
4. Oklahoma
Nothing but a quiet offseason for the Sooners lands the defending champs in fourth to open the season. Still, uneventful usually equals success for Oklahoma, as it sits as the sport’s current dynasty with eight of the last 12 titles to its name despite offseasons without exponential elite successes or transfer portal additions. But, as expected, the Sooners add an astute freshman class, led by former No. 1-ranked recruit Mackenzie Estep, who can help soothe the losses of Audrey Davis and Honda Award winner Jordan Bowers. Oklahoma has losses to contend with, but that has never slowed down the Sooners before, so don’t be surprised to see them back atop the power rankings as soon as week two.
5. Arkansas
The Razorbacks’ offseason was similar to that of the Gators’, with Joscelyn Roberson nabbing vault bronze at world championships to give Arkansas its run of elite success. Five former four- or five-star recruits also make up its rookie class, providing it with plenty of new talent to mold. The third-ranked recruit of her class, Allison Cucci enters collegiate gymnastics as the program’s highest-ranked and rated recruit ever, exponentially raising the potential for the Razorbacks’ roster as a potential all-arounder from the jump. Plus, Arkansas adds proven starpower in Morgan Price, its former five-star de-commit who chose to start her career at Fisk, establish herself as the best HBCU gymnast ever before transferring back to Fayetteville. Head coach Jordyn Wieber has the pieces she needs to lead the Razorbacks to their best finish ever.
6. Utah
Similar to the Sooners, no news is good news in Salt Lake City, as a no-nonsense offseason saw the departure of a few program centerpieces along with the addition of another strong recruiting class, including a pair of former five-star recruits. Bailey Stroud is one of those, and as a balanced all-arounder ranked in the top-10 of her class, she’s a prime contender to fill some of the lineup holes, keeping the Red Rocks’ streak of qualifying to every single national championship alive. After injury limited her competition time in her freshman season, former top recruit Avery Neff is set to become the next leader of the program, as Utah looks to maximize its final season with both her and longtime consistency queen Makenna Smith on the roster.
7. Missouri
Fresh off the program’s best-ever finish after nabbing third place a season ago, the Tigers have reloaded and are in position to prove their run to national prominence was not a fluke. There are several key departures to replace, but Missouri brings in its highest-ranked and rated recruit ever in Kimarra Echols, who is college-ready and able to contribute on multiple events immediately. The Tigers also had success at the world championship level during the offseason, with Kaia Tanskanen, representing Finland, the only current NCAA gymnast to appear in the all-around final. Tanskanen was a vault and floor regular for Missouri in 2025 and will now be looked upon to contribute elsewhere to lead the Tigers to nationals and a top-half finish in the SEC.
8. Michigan State
Teetering on the cusp of qualifying for nationals since 2022, the Spartans finally broke through in 2025 for the program’s first-ever appearance as a team at the NCAA championships. Michigan State rode that momentum to finish sixth, and with its hot recruiting streak continuing, there’s plenty of promise for the Spartans to start a nationals streak. Romanian Olympian Lilia Cosman is one of three former four-star recruits bolstering Michigan State’s roster for 2026, and the impactful recruiting also extended to the transfer portal, as the Spartans add Retoshia Halsell, a former Towson gymnast who missed most of 2025 but was a regionals qualifier on vault and floor to end her freshman campaign in 2024. The Spartans’ depth will keep them in the nationals hunt and put them on the right side of the bubble to begin the season.
9. Georgia
While the conference championship and regionals didn’t go as planned for the GymDogs in 2025, their drastic improvement to finish the regular season in a tie for 10th under first-year coaching duo Ryan Roberts and Cécile Canqueteau-Landi was precisely what the program hoped for following the dramatic coaching change the previous offseason. Georgia retains nearly all of its 2025 lineups and adds four former four-star recruits with plenty of elite experience to its roster—with that pedigree the ideal fit for this coaching system. That doesn’t even include former five-star recruit CaMarah Williams, who had one of signing day’s biggest surprises in announcing she would be joining the GymDogs in January instead of the 2027 season. Depth will help one of the sport’s most prolific programs contend for a return to the NCAA championships for the first time since 2019.
10. Alabama
After finishing the regular season on the outside of the nationals picture, the Crimson Tide ended the year in Fort Worth with an eighth-place finish thanks to its upset of California in the regional final. Losing just a handful of routines from that team, Alabama has an opportunity to carry that momentum into 2026, as former five-star recruit Jasmine Cawley appears ready to be a contender for SEC Freshman of the Year and Gabby Gladieux returns as the leading all-arounder after finishing ranked No. 12 in 2025. Now with back-to-back eighth-place finishes, the Crimson Tide will be aiming to take the next step in not only returning to nationals but also contending for the final for its first title since 2012.
Up Next: Stanford, Michigan, Minnesota, Auburn, Kentucky, N.C. State
READ THIS NEXT:Â 26 Questions We Have About the 2026 Season
Article by Brandis Heffner
OK as a Red Rock fan I view sliding Utah back to more Arkansas (no disrespect to the Gymbacks) to be a predictable move… Sometimes if feels that everyone except actual Utah fans wish our program would just fade away.
But OU at #4? Well that is a bit unexpected and spicy… Putting 3 teams ahead of “Everyone’s” #1 pick?
Definitely think of this as a ranking for “right now” whereas our preseason poll, for example, was predicting the final ranking at the end of the season.
Totally agree that everyone wants Utah to fade away, mainly because they aren’t in the SEC or B1G. So many college sports have become horribly biased since ESPN started deciding which teams are valuable and which aren’t. It’s really sad.
Yeah, whatever. Leotard bias is everywhere.