letsgeaux247

I think Emily Innes will be a contributor on beam and maybe floor. Does she have any more eligibility next year?

I wonder if she is thinking about following Konnor's path and ending up not deferring for the Olympics. Valeri (Hezly's coach) doesn't have the best track record in keeping his athletes healthy. I hope she heals up!

To defer means that a gymnast chooses to continue their pre-collegiate career (almost exclusively their elite career) in the hope of achieving additional titles/medals or other achievements instead of starting their collegiate career. If a gymnast defers, they are still allowed to complete the rest of their college eligibility (four years).

For example, Zoe Miller (LSU) and Skye Blakely (Florida) both could have joined their respective college teams for the 2024 season, but they had very good chances of making the 2024 Olympic team. They deferred their freshman year, and unfortunately, they both suffered season-ending injuries in the months leading up to the Olympics. They didn't lose a year of eligibility; they just didn't start with the freshman class they were planning to be in.

Most young gymnasts choose to defer their college enrollment because it is challenging to manage elite/Olympic training while also balancing college academics and competition. However, we are starting to see some settled college gymnasts train both in college and at the elite level simultaneously (Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Leanne Wong, Konnor McClain).

Hezly Rivera, who is LSU's biggest recruit in the incoming class of 2027, will need to decide whether she wants to begin her college career at the start of 2027 or defer for two years for the chance to represent the USA at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Like I said earlier, she still has a chance of making the Olympic team if she decides to join LSU on time, but it makes the process more challenging. A very tricky situation!

OU has two loaded classes coming in the next few years, so I understand why they didn't use the portal this year. We are losing a similar number of starting routines (OU 9 and LSU 11). Happy that we were able to bring in Ulrich. The only other team that has pulled a star transfer is Florida with Frazier, but I am not too concerned with Florida, given Jenny Rowland's track record.

Our bars lineup is going to be crazy next year!

We will lose 11 starting routines this year with Haleigh, Aleah, Sierra, KJ, Tori, Alexis, Liv, Alyona, Chase (could do another year?), and Kathryn graduating. Not only are those routines great, but we are losing some great leaders.

I think our upperclassmen will need to step up next season. Konnor will be poised for the AA if she can find a consistent vault (double-full). I could also see Amari breaking into bars and beam. Cowan and Koen could also have an expanded role next year.

Expect to see some new faces in our lineups next year. Zoe Miller will be eager to make lineups after her shoulder surgery. The same could be said about Kaliya, and I expect her to be in the AA. Our incoming freshmen are some of the highest performing L10s, but two are returning from injury.

Disappointed with the end to this season, but can't wait to see their response to this adversity!

Press Conference
Chase is out for the season with an Achilles rupture. Konnor is training floor and vault (DTY?). KJ did a full floor routine on the rod floor on Sunday. Haleigh did a full bar set on Sunday and is available for lineup selection. Tori, Alyonna, and Dunne are all ready for bars.

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Nina is going to be a star on floor. She has huge tumbling, engaging dance, and boundless personality. Just based on her interviews and social media, her demeanor reminds me so much of Sierra Ballard. She has usable Yurchenko 1.5 (hopefully she can stick more landings this season). Her bar routine is very nice with a double layout dismount comparable to Kiya Johnson’s. I would say beam is her weakest event, but I think she just needs to find more consistency for the upcoming season.

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Elyse showed she's a strong all-arounder this past season. She has a beautiful Yurchenko full (might be able to upgrade to a 1.5) and a very clean bars set (she is training a Delchev). She is the reigning beam national champ and has some great tumbling on the floor. She's been a late bloomer, but I think she could get even more L10 national champs in the future.

Gymnastics season can't come soon enough