The 2026 NCAA gymnastics season is finally here! With more than 20 meets sometimes happening on the same night, choosing which one to watch can feel overwhelming. Enter the NCAA Gymnastics Watchability Index, designed to help narrow the field. Loosely inspired by similar metrics in other sports, the index highlights the most fun and exciting teams to tune into (assuming the meet is televised), using a set of criteria outlined below.
Methodology
For the index, five categories were used, along with a bonus-points section. The goal was to capture not only the overall caliber of gymnastics but also the intangibles that make a meet especially fun to watch. That approach led to the following categories: high scores, freshmen, close meets, drama rotations, and leotards. Stream accessibility was not factored into the rankings; the index assumes meets are available to watch in some form.
Each category was scored individually, then converted into a points system ranging from 1 to 10. The top team, or teams in the event of a tie, received 10 points, with the next two or three teams earning 9 points, and so on, until the largest group of teams fell into the 1-point tier. Teams were ranked by total points, with ties broken by the highest score in any individual category.
Category scores were calculated as follows:
High Scores
Quality gymnastics is fun to watch. That’s one of the reasons we love this sport. For this category, we calculated the number of 9.9+ routines that occurred last season from athletes returning for the 2026 season.
Freshmen
There’s a ton of anticipation for new faces to see how they transition to college. Will they live up to the hype? It’s exciting to watch and find out. We used the same calculation that is used to determine the freshman class ranking to determine the number of freshman points for each team.
Close Meets
There may not be defense in college gymnastics, but it’s still exciting when a meet comes down to the final routine. To determine the close meet points for each team, we took a weighted average of the number of meets last season that finished within 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 of the opponent.
Drama Rotations
While six straight hit routines are beautiful to watch, sometimes a little drama can be exciting. The “drama” we’re counting here is a rotation with just one missed routine that ends up being dropped. For these points, we calculated the number of rotations last season where a score below 9.5 was dropped in favor of a score above 9.7.
Leotards
Is the first thing you do when you turn on a meet comment on whether or not you like the leotard? Because it is for us! Since we judge leotards each week and give them a numerical score, we went with a data-driven approach to leotard points by averaging the leotard rating from new leotards debuted over the past five seasons for each team.
Bonus Points
There are so many other things that make teams fun to watch that can’t be summed up in a category. Stick objects, great social content, and more. We had the editorial team at CGN vote on this one and awarded the teams receiving votes one bonus point.
The Results
Since good gymnastics is fun to watch, it’s not surprising that many of the top teams finished high on the list. However, this list isn’t just a ranking of the top teams. Let’s dive into the teams we’ve determined are the most watchable.
No 1. Michigan State
Total: 44 | High Scores: 7 | Freshmen: 7 | Close Meets: 10 | Drama Rotations: 9 | Leotards: 10 | Bonus: 1
Michigan State is known for having quality gymnastics, but beautiful leotards paired with drama-filled rotations and close meets are what pushed it to the top of this list. Plus, head coach Mike Rowe is always one to look out for on the sidelines for some additional entertainment. Not only did the Spartans top this list, but they beat the second-place team by 11 points. Any time you have a chance to watch Michigan State this season, be sure to tune in for a good time.
No 2. California
Total: 33 | High Scores: 5 | Freshmen: 5 | Close Meets: 7 | Drama Rotations: 9 | Leotards: 6 | Bonus: 1
California is another team with drama and intrigue, making its meets fun to watch. It may be losing a lot of top talent this year, but you don’t want to miss a chance to watch gymnasts run down the vault runway with a giant bear head on.
No 3. Utah
Total: 31 | High Scores: 8 | Freshmen: 7 | Close Meets: 9 | Drama Rotations: 5 | Leotards: 2 | Bonus: 0
Utah brings high scores and a talented freshman class. But even with its high scoring potential, it had some very close meets last season, including narrowly beating Arizona State and tying with Denver at regionals, bringing the Utes to No. 3 on the watchability index.
No. 4 Florida
Total: 30 | High Scores: 9 | Freshmen: 8 | Close Meets: 8 | Drama Rotations: 4 | Leotards: 1 | Bonus: 0
Much like Utah, Florida brings tons of talent and an exciting freshman class to keep an eye on. But a tough slate of SEC opponents brought some really close meets last season and will likely do so again in 2026.
No. 5 LSU
Total: 29 | High Scores: 10 | Freshmen: 8 | Close Meets: 7 | Drama Rotations: 2 | Leotards: 2 | Bonus: 0
LSU finished the regular season at No. 1 last year, so it’s no surprise to see it get all 10 possible points for high scores. The Tigers have a lot to replace in 2026, but tune in to watch the talented freshman class fill those shoes and pull out some close wins.
No. 6 Georgia
Total: 29 | High Scores: 7 | Freshmen: 7 | Close Meets: 8 | Drama Rotations: 5 | Leotards: 1 | Bonus: 1
We’re seeing a trend here of SEC teams with many close meets, but that can’t be surprising given the level of talent in the conference. Expect Georgia to many tight contests again this season. But if close meets aren’t enough to get you to tune it, Georgia has a beautiful rhinestone stick jacket made by a local artist that you’ll be sure to catch a glimpse of when you watch its meets.
No. 7 UCLA
Total: 29 | High Scores: 7 | Freshmen: 8 | Close Meets: 6 | Drama Rotations: 5 | Leotards: 2 | Bonus: 1
UCLA grabbed a bonus point in our rankings thanks to its floor party, complete with a confetti throw from the student section on the final tumbling pass. Plus, head coach Janelle McDonald’s celebrations after every bar routine are never short of entertaining. Pair that with talented gymnastics and a tough slate of opponents, and you’ve got an exciting team to watch next season.
No. 8 Oklahoma
Total: 28 | High Scores: 10 | Freshmen: 10 | Close Meets: 1 | Drama Rotations: 3 | Leotards: 4 | Bonus: 0
The reigning national champions are reloading with both the No. 1 and No. 2 recruits of the freshman class. The Sooners are already known for bringing high scores, and don’t expect that to change this season. If you’re looking for a cleanly executed meet with high scores, tune in to Oklahoma.
No. 9 Arkansas
Total: 28 | High Scores: 6 | Freshmen: 9 | Close Meets: 4 | Drama Rotations: 6 | Leotards: 3 | Bonus: 0
Oklahoma may have grabbed the top two recruits, but Arkansas is right behind it with No. 3. Freshmen can be unpredictable, but that class should add some excitement to a team that already produced some drama-filled rotations that were fun to watch.
No. 10 Stanford
Total: 27 | High Scores: 6 | Freshmen: 6 | Close Meets: 3 | Drama Rotations: 4 | Leotards: 7 | Bonus: 1
Rounding out the top 10 is Stanford, which not only has beautiful leotards but has arguably the best stick object in the NCAA: an actual stick, local to the competition site each week. Tune in to see the contenders the team finds for 2026!
Full Rankings
| Rank | Total | High Score Points | Freshmen Points | Close Meet Points | Drama Rotation Points | Leotard Points | Bonus Points | |
| Michigan State | 1 | 44 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 1 |
| California | 2 | 33 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
| Utah | 3 | 31 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Florida | 4 | 30 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| LSU | 5 | 29 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Georgia | 6 | 29 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| UCLA | 7 | 29 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 8 | 28 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 9 | 28 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| Stanford | 10 | 27 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| Alabama | 11 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Auburn | 12 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Kentucky | 13 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Illinois | 14 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| Arizona | 15 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| Missouri | 16 | 24 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Penn State | 17 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| Rutgers | 18 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 19 | 23 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Arizona State | 20 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Central Michigan | 21 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Denver | 22 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Clemson | 23 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| George Washington | 24 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Utah State | 25 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Air Force | 26 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Texas Woman’s | 27 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| North Carolina State | 28 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Boise State | 29 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh | 30 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 31 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 32 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Iowa | 33 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Washington | 34 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| Oregon State | 35 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| San Jose State | 36 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| Southern Utah | 37 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Eastern Michigan | 38 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Michigan | 39 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Maryland | 40 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 40 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Temple | 42 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| Towson | 43 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Kent State | 43 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| BYU | 45 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Ball State | 46 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 47 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Centenary College | 48 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Fisk | 49 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Rhode Island College | 50 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Springfield College | 50 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| UW-Stout | 50 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Northern Illinois | 53 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| UW-Whitewater | 54 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Iowa State | 55 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 56 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Bridgeport | 57 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| S.E. Missouri | 58 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Western Michigan | 59 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 59 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| William & Mary | 61 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| UW-La Crosse | 62 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Bowling Green | 63 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Brown | 64 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Sacramento State | 65 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| UC Davis | 66 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Winona State | 67 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| LIU | 67 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Cornell | 67 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Brockport | 70 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Illinois State | 70 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Alaska | 72 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Wilberforce | 73 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| West Chester | 73 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Utica | 75 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Ithaca College | 76 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ursinus College | 76 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Yale | 76 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Southern Conn. | 79 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Cortland State | 79 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| UW-Oshkosh | 79 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Hamline | 79 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Gustavus Adolphus | 79 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| UW-Eau Claire | 79 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Greenville | 79 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Simpson | 79 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
READ THIS NEXT: How to Watch College Gymnastics in 2026
Article by Claire Harmon
