The 2025 NCAA season is just around the corner, and we'll soon find out who will be able to prevent LSU from defending their 2024 National TItle. This year we are publishing, in a slightly abbreviated format, Season Previews for the entire Top 25 teams, as ranked by the Coaches' Preseason Poll. In each Preview, we've summarized the team's returning routines, their lost routines, their returning starters and the rest of their roster, with a special focus on their newcomers. We'll also give a brief overview preview of their prospects and challenges. In a change for this year, we've incorporated our recruit ratings for your reference.
Once again, Oklahoma has topped the women's Preseason Coaches Poll, this time for the 2025 season. They earned 42 first place votes to outpace LSU in 2nd, with 6 first place votes. Florida is 3rd (5 first place votes), Cal is 4th (1) and Utah is 5th (1). Here's the rest of the top 25, after the break.
Elizabeth "Lizzy" Ryan, a L10 at ENA, has committed to continue her academic and athletic career at Penn State, starting in 2024-2025. Last season, she placed 24th AA at the 2024 Women's Development Program Level 10 Nationals.
Link: Insta
Signing Day begins for the new period (2025-2026), starting Wednesday, November 2023. Committed athletes will signs contracts of financial and athletic aid, in what was formerly known as National Letter of Intent day. An air of uncertainty looms over college athletics, due to a pending settlement in the House vs. NCAA. That settlement received preliminary approval by the court but will not be granted final approval until April. Until then, a number of objections and potential conflicts will need to be resolved.
CMU has hired George Young as an assistant. Young is an owner and coach at Mid-Michigan Gymnastics.
Link: Insta
Taylor Colwell has been named the new Head Coach at Long Island University. She was previously an assistant at CMU, SEMO and Lindenwood. She was also a competitor for Lindenwood.
Link: Release
Talia Cotter, a L10 from Metro South, has committed to Kentucky, starting in 2025-2026. She's a two-time L10 Regional qualifier.
Link: Insta
On September 11th, 2001, Mari-Rae Sopper was on her way to California, ready to start her job as Head Coach of the women's team at UC Santa Barbara. Sopper, a former standout at Iowa State, was known as "ISUFan" on the fromer College Gymnastics Board. She had given up her job as a Navy JAG Corp lawyer to pursue her dream, and to help save the cancelled program at UCSB. She lost her life during the events of that fateful day, as the plane she was on was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon. We pause to remember her spirit and dedication to the sport, and her inspiring effort to pursue her dreams, as well as the others who lost their lives that fateful day.
UW-Whitewater's Kara Welsh, 21, was shot and killed on Friday night. A 23 year old man was arrested and charged with first degree murder. Walsh, a native of Plainfield, IL, was heading into her senior season at UW-Whitewater. A VT/FX specialist, she won the National Title on VT at the 2023 NCGA (Div 3) Championships. She also placed 3rd(t) on VT in 2022. Our deepest condolences to her family, teammates, coaches, and friends.
Link: Local News Report and Milkwaukee Journal Sentinel
The final 2024-2025 Code Modifications and rules have been released. Rather than adopting some of the broad sweeping proposals for Code Modifications, the changes are now focusing on a new system of evaluation and audit of the judges. The actual changes to rules governing content, execution and value of the skills are relatively small, forming an incremental change to the existing Code of Points. (Updated with issued clarifications and changes 11/30/24).
TWU has hired Zan Jones as an assistant. He had served as a volunteer assistant at Talladega.
Link: Release
Arizona has hired Shelby Martinez as an assistant coach. She's been a club coach for the past eight years at Carter's Gymnastics. As Shelby Edwards, she was a standout for the Wildcats and a co-conference champ on VT in 2014.
Link: Release
UCLA has hired Mark Freeman and Lacy Dagen as assistant coaches. Freeman has been serving as an assistant for the Stanford's Men's team for the last five years, and prior to that, with the Cal Men's team. He was a former gymnast at Cal and for the UK National Team. Dagen was an assistant and recruiting coordinator at ASU. Prior to that, she coached at Oregon State and UC Davis. She competed at Oregon State after starting her career at Florida.
Link: UCLA Release
BGSU has hired Brittney Emmons as their new Head Coach. She has spend the last five seasons at W&M and was a student-athlete at Ball State. Prior to that, she was an assistant at SEMO and a volunteer assistant at USU.
Link: Release