Tigers look for spot in final four and for individual titles
This is where it gets real.
The back-to-back SEC Champion and reigning national champion #1 LSU gymnastics team is back in Fort Worth. They sit one step away from a chance at protecting their crown, and unlike the last two years, they’ll have to wait to compete. The Tigers are in the second session of the NCAA semifinals. The first semifinal starts at 3:30 and includes #2 Oklahoma, #3 Florida, #7 Missouri and #11 Alabama. The second semifinal begins at 8:00 and includes #8 Michigan State, #5 UCLA, #4 Utah and #1 LSU. Both will be broadcast on ESPN2 with John Roethlisberger, Sam Peszek and Aly Raisman calling the meet and Taylor Davis on the floor.
One thing I want to note before getting into everything is a statistic I’m bringing back that I’ve decided to call National Qualifier’s Average or NQA. To get any team’s NQA for team score or for a team event score, take a team’s NQS, multiply it by 5, add the two scores they earned at regionals to that total, and divide that entire thing by 7. All rankings you see except for the ones next to the team names are based on that. The full table is below.
#8 Michigan State (197.489 NQA, 26-5 overall (11-3 regular season), finished 2nd at Big 10s, begins on vault)
Regionals scores: Semifinal: 197.625 (49.525 VT, 49.450 UB, 49.250 BB, 49.400 FX); Final: 198.000 (49.650 VT, 49.575 UB, 49.350 BB, 49.425 FX)
Program overview: 0 team titles, best finish: whatever they do this year, 1 conference title (2024 B1G), 0 individual NCAA titles, 2nd nationals appearance (first since ’88), 0 Super Six Appearances (1993-2018), 0 Four on the Floor appearances (2019-present)
Event rankings: 3rd on vault [49.496], 5th on bars [49.461], t-7th on beam [49.318], 8th on floor [49.418]
Context for the 37-year gap: In 1988, Michigan State made nationals for the first time, and this is their first time back. In 1988, they finished last (12th) with a 178.80, and Alabama won their first title with a 190.05, the first time a national champ ever scored a 190 to win. In 1988, Kelly Garrison had the only 10 in NCAA history. In 1988, there was no team semifinal and team finals were split across two sessions. In 1988, Michigan legend Bev Plocki was in her first year as the head coach of West Virginia. It has been a while to say the least.
Preview: This is the culmination of a long build. It’s hard to call this a rebuild when there was never anything built in the first place. The Spartans missed the tournament from 2017-21 (2021 was a Covid-riddled two-meet season), but a core of strong gymnasts and some great coaching has put them in regional finals each year since. They broke through to national prominence the last two years as a true dark horse nationals contender on the back of their best event: vault. Few teams are as good at sticking their vaults as consistently as MSU, though their scores may not always reflect that. This team is very weird. They are capable of making the finals when they hit, and they have a higher ceiling than Utah. If they have the right mindset and remain focused, they could pull off one of the most incredible upsets of the modern tournament era.
National title contenders: The entire vault lineup is capable of winning a vault title, and I would’ve focused on Nikki Smith and Sage Kellerman before regionals. Gabi Stephen’s 10 at regionals was the best Yurchenko 1.5 (Y1.5) of the 2025 season, though. Skyla Schulte has proven that she’s more than capable of contending for a floor title, and Delanie Harkness could contend for the bars title.
Individuals with which they’re rotating and semifinal scores: Kaya Forbes (North Carolina; 9.875 VT), Maddie Jones (Arkansas; 9.950 UB), Isabella Magnelli (Kentucky; 9.950 BB), Creslyn Brose (Kentucky; 9.950 FX) [note: Kaya does a Yurchenko Full, and for the sake of transparency, we know each other]
#5 UCLA (197.682 NQA, 29-4 overall (13-3 regular season), Big 10 champions, begins on floor)
Regionals scores: Semifinal: 197.750 (49.450 VT, 49.300 UB, 49.500 BB, 49.500 FX); Final: 197.625 (49.475 VT, 49.275 UB, 49.425 BB, 49.450 FX)
Program overview: 7 team titles (last in ’18), 22 conference titles (1 WCAA, 20 Pac-10/12, 1 B1G), 40 individual NCAA titles (last was Jordan Chiles on bars and floor in ‘23), 37th nationals appearance (first since ’23), 21 Super 6 appearances (last in ’18), 1 Four on the Floor appearance (’19)
Event rankings: 5th on vault [49.350], 7th on bars [49.386], 4th on beam [49.514], 3rd on floor [49.575]
Preview: This isn’t the same dominant UCLA program of old, but it’s very good. The Bruins opened the season with a dreadful 195.250. They haven’t gone below 197.200 since. They won the Big 10 regular season and meet title, and their meet title came thanks to a 198.450. That is their season high by half a point, and that’s where I get concerned. UCLA has all the capabilities of a good team, but they aren’t consistent. Vault and bars are their biggest weaknesses. If they don’t stick, they’ll walk themselves out of this tournament. Worst of all, they have to try and beat Utah, something they’ve done once since 2020 (2024 Sprouts Collegiate Quad). If they can keep their composure, it’s possible, but that’s a big hypothetical.
National title contenders: Jordan Chiles is a very good gymnast who is looking to defend two national titles since she deferred the 2024 season to win an Olympic gold medal with Team USA. She’ll be very capable of defending those bars and floor titles, but her teammate and 2020 Olympian for Canada Brooklyn Moors will be stiff competition on floor. Chiles would be an all-around contender, but she tends to do a Servente on vault, and that alone should get no higher than a 9.700 (it gets 9.9+ regularly because judges don’t always succeed at their jobs).
Individuals with which they’re rotating and semifinal scores: Sophia Diaz (Michigan; 9.950 VT), Madelyn Williams (Cal; 9.950 UB), Mya Lauzon (Cal; 9.950 BB, 9.950 FX)
#4 Utah (197.768 NQA, 23-4-1 overall (12-4 regular season), Big 12 champions, begins on beam)
Regionals scores: Semifinal: 197.650 (49.400 VT, 49.500 UB, 49.175 BB, 49.575 FX); Final: 197.825 (49.375 VT, 49.425 UB, 49.400 BB, 49.625 FX)
Program overview: 10 team titles (9 NCAA, 1 AIAW), best finish since 1998: 2nd (last in ’15), 16 conference championships (5 HCAC, 3 WAC, 7 Pac-12, 1 Big 12), 30 individual NCAA titles (last was Maile O’Keefe on beam and the all-around in ’23), 43rd nationals appearance (49th including AIAW), 21 Super 6 appearances (last in ’18), 4 Four on the Floor appearances (’21-‘24)
Event rankings: 6th on vault [49.343], 4th on bars [49.468], 5th on beam [49.468], 4th on floor [49.546]
Preview: Utah has a massive issue coming into this meet: nobody knows if they’re any good. Their ranking is extremely deceiving because their top seven scores have come in the Salt Lake City metro area at either the Huntsman Center or the Maverik Center. Their best score outside of those venues is a 197.425 from the February 2nd meet at West Virginia. If this team’s gymnastics can travel, that’s good. Nobody knows if that can happen, and it’s why I can’t predict what they’ll do. UCLA tends to bring the best out of Utah no matter the venue, and that’ll have to happen if they want to advance to their fifth straight national final.
National title contenders: 2020 Olympian and bars queen Grace McCallum scored a 10 on bars at both Utah Regional meets. Her lines are incredibly clean, and she could do it again. Teammate Avery Neff, someone who shouldn’t be competing but is because she’s built different, is also a threat to take the beam title. Neff suffered a nasty ankle injury early in the season that looked like it would force her to redshirt the season, but she came back within a couple weeks to the bars lineup and is now doing all four events.
Individual with which they’re rotating and semifinal scores: Joscelyn Roberson (Arkansas, 39.600 AA; 9.875 VT, 9.875 UB, 9.925 BB, 9.925 FX)
#1 LSU (198.104 NQA, 24-2 overall (11-2 regular season), SEC champions, begins on bars)
Regionals scores: Semifinal: 198.100 (49.500 VT, 49.525 UB, 49.525 BB, 49.550 FX); Final: 198.050 (49.350 VT, 49.450 UB, 49.675 BB, 49.575 FX)
Event rankings: 1st on vault [49.507], 3rd on bars [49.521], 2nd on beam [49.525], 2nd on floor [49.593]
Preview: Normal is still enough to advance. LSU is a very strong team on each event, and the way they’ve executed the last couple months is great enough to make the national final. They need to stick some more vaults to make it more comfortable. Haleigh Bryant is unlikely to defend her all-around title because of the person rotating with LSU, but there are several championship-caliber athletes vying for spots atop the podiums. Kailin Chio is a top contender on bars, beam and vault, Aleah Finnegan is highly capable of defending her floor title, and Konnor McClain has a shot of getting a great beam score. That is all well and good, but team success is what comes first for the Tigers.
Individual with which they’re rotating and semifinal scores: Jade Carey (Oregon State, 39.850 AA; 9.950 VT, 9.950 UB, 9.950 BB, 10.0 FX) [note: Carey has not lost a beam or AA title in 2025]