The 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships is nearly upon us! The first meet flags off on January 3rd, as the reigning title holders, LSU Gymnastics take on Iowa State in a head-on battle. And of course, the excitement is through the roof to watch Paris Olympics medalist Hezly Rivera perform for the women in purple and gold! But is she the only star to look out for this season?
Well, hardly. There are so many seasoned pros who’ll be embarking upon the title chase this season. Their experience and popularity will surely make the competition quite breakneck and the arenas quite noisy on meet days. Especially after some of them were seen traveling across the US for the famous Gold Over America Tour recently. Wondering who the top 5 names are currently? Well, let us spell them out for you!
5. Jordan Chiles
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Needless to say, after Paris, Jordan Chiles had to be on the list! Shortly after she left the French capital, Chiles announced her return to UCLA for her remaining two years of college. And thanks to her double Olympic run, she is now one of the prime gymnasts to watch out for in the 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships. But other aspects make her special too.
Jordan Chiles’ Paris stint has been an absolute highlight in her career. She scored on all four apparatuses in the qualifying event, leading the Americans on three of them, and helped the USA contingent win the team gold in Paris. By the end of it, Chiles ranked the fourth-highest in qualifying, which should have pushed her through to the all-around final. However, the limitation of two gymnasts per country in each individual event hindered that.
Although she qualified for the floor final and even won a bronze, a long-drawn controversy had it stripped. But if you look at her past few seasons, Chiles has proven her ability to handle high-pressure situations. 2023 was all about being the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics uneven bars and floor exercise champion for her. Chiles even represented Team USA at the 2022 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, elevating her team to gold status, along with vault and floor silvers. Thus, her consistency across all events ensures she’s a strong NCAA contender in 2025.
4. Jade Carey
Fresh off the Paris Olympics stage, the mega event will be a reference point for Jade Carey’s skills too. Thanks to a flawless ‘Cheng’ and a double-twisting ‘Yurchenko’, Carey bagged a vault bronze in Paris, averaging 14.666 in the event. Of course, top that up with the team gold that the USA contingent won!
But as she returns to the OSU Beavers for her fourth year, she will be looking to nail the 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships. She was the 2024 NCAA Championships silver medalist in the all-around and on-floor exercises as well as held third place on the beam. Plus, she was second on the vault at both the Core Hydration Classic 2024 and the U.S Olympic Trials 2024.
Thus, powerful vault routines and tumbling with flair on the floor are her strengths. She is indeed a very dynamic gymnast and that would add great flavor to the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships this year.
3. Leanne Wong
This rising star from the Florida Gators’ tent is one of the budding talents in USA Gymnastics. Remember when she conquered the “gym slam” with a score of perfect 10 and became the 15th gymnast in NCAA history to be awarded with it, earlier this year? Well, it was pretty unforgettable!
Earlier, in February, she claimed a perfect 10 on the floor. Besides that, she holds three other perfect tens in her career, one on the bars (January 28, 2022), another one on the beam (January 13, 2023), and a fourth on the vault (March 2, 2022).
Evidently, she has been performing flawlessly across all apparatuses, which makes her a strong candidate for the 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships. Also, she combines technical excellence with artistic performance, making her routines captivating and record-breaking.
2. Haleigh Bryant
You name the award and Haleigh Bryant had it in 2024. The SEC Gymnast of the Year? The 2024 AAI Award Winner? And the Honda Sport Award for gymnastics? Well, she bagged them all. Also, she was the first LSU gymnast to achieve both a gym slam (a perfect 10 on every event) and a season slam (a perfect 10 on every event in a single season) in 2024!
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Moreover, how can we forget, that Bryant was the 2024 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships all-around title holder? In her NCAA career, she flaunts a whopping 27 All-America honors, the most in LSU history, and 18 perfect 10s. She even scored a career-high of 39.925, which stood as the highest all-around in the NCAA for the 2024 season and won her the title.
These aspects, including her leadership and ability to deliver in critical moments, make her a dominant force in NCAA gymnastics. But it looks like she might have to miss some of the initial meets of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships season due to her recent elbow injury at the LSU Gymnastics 101 exhibition.
1. Trinity Thomas
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Florida’s Trinity Thomas is the gymnast who etched her name in NCAA history in 2023! She recorded her 28th perfect 10 at the 2023 national championships and moved into a tie for first place on the all-time list of gymnasts with the most perfect 10s in NCAA history!
Needless to say, Thomas is a seasoned competitor whose performances often redefine excellence. She has the ability to consistently score at the highest levels, which has placed her amongst the cream of the sport! And as she gets to clash with the rest of the fierce gymnasts this season, the fight for the NCAA title sure gets more interesting! Whom do you support the most among these? Let us know below!
