Mizzou Gymnastics welcomes Cyclones for home opener

Fresh disconnected nan program’s best-ever decorativeness aft nabbing 3rd spot a play ago, nan Tigers person reloaded and are successful position to beryllium their tally to nationalist prominence was not a fluke. There are respective cardinal departures to replace, but Missouri brings successful its highest-ranked and rated enlistee ever successful Kimarra Echols, who is college-ready and capable to lend connected aggregate events immediately. The Tigers besides had occurrence astatine nan world title level during nan offseason, pinch Kaia Tanskanen, representing Finland, nan only existent NCAA gymnast to look successful nan all-around final. Tanskanen was a vault and level regular for Missouri successful 2025 and will now beryllium looked upon to lend elsewhere to lead nan Tigers to nationals and a top-half decorativeness successful nan SEC.

The Missouri coaching staff’s savvy attack and bold offseason moves paid awesome dividends successful 2025. After expertly navigating nan transportation portal and continuing to create existing talent, nan Tigers put together a historical season—breaking caller crushed by advancing to nan nighttime convention of SECs for nan first clip ever, qualifying to nationals for nan first clip since 2022, and finishing 3rd for nan champion consequence successful schoolhouse history by immoderate women’s team. Missouri besides deed a awesome programme milestone by earning its first-ever 198 squad people and saw Helen Hu named SEC Specialist of nan Year. It was a twelvemonth of firsts fueled by strategical activity and a clear imagination for success.

Opponent Outlook: Iowa State

• Iowa State ended nan 2025 play classed no. 39 nationally pinch a 195.740 NQS, 195.192 average, and 196.100 precocious score. The Cyclones’ champion events were Vault (no. 33, 49.200 high) and Floor (no. 35, 49.325 high).
• While nan 2025 play wasn’t nan best, nan 2024 play was a occurrence and saw nan Cyclones gain an NCAA location berth, wherever they vanished no. 29 and hit Clemson successful nan first round. The sub-30 ranking was 15 places higher than their 2023-24 rankings.
• Sophomores Frederique Sgarbassa and Haylee Hardin, arsenic good arsenic inferior Noelle Adams return arsenic NCAA location qualifiers. Hardin was named to nan All-Big 12 Freshman Team, arsenic good arsenic All-Big 12 connected floor.
• Sgarbossa (bars), Hardin (floor) and Adams (floor, 2nd consecutive year) earned 2nd squad Preseason All-Big 12 honors.
• Fun Fact: While nan Tigers brought backmost their Beauty & The Beast meet past year, nan Cyclones besides big this meet, which drew an astonishing 9,470 fans past season. (side note: nan attendance number connected RTN yet makes consciousness now)
• The Cyclones are led by Ashley Miles Greig, who was hired successful 2023 aft serving arsenic a choreographer to optional and elite gymnasts and moving arsenic an ESPN analyst. The Bama alum won 3 nationalist titles connected vault from 2003-06 and tied for nan level title successful 2004. She has 11 cleanable 10s successful her career, including 4 arsenic a freshman. Six of her 11 cleanable 10s came successful nan postseason.
• In nan offseason, Miles Greig re-vamped her staff, bringing successful five-time NCAA All-American Ragan Smith (OU) successful nan offseason, who had 11 cleanable 10s connected her profession connected beam successful her career, on pinch Jazmyn Estrella (Utah State, Temple, UNH).

• NOTES: Of nan database above, I’d see Hannah, Kaia & Elise (First squad WCGA Postseason All-American) to beryllium existent locks, and past nan others will apt dangle upon really their vaults are looking week successful and week out. After RJ’s unthinkable *surprise* Yurchenko 1.5 astatine Black & Gold, I’ve each but locked her successful arsenic well.
• Hannah is nan team’s astir accordant returner vaulter, arsenic pinch nan objection of a postseason fall, she scored 9.90+ a whopping six times, including 2 9.95s (one should person been a 10).
• H2, Elise, RJ & Dakota (Y 1.5), arsenic good arsenic Kaia (Tsuk Full aliases Pike Front Half) and Olivia (Y 1.5 tucked) each showcased 10.0 SV vaults astatine nan team’s Black & Gold meet.
• Kimarra, Kennedy, Ayla, Bryce, Hayli & Lisa person besides worked connected their Y 1.5 vaults arsenic well, though I see Kimarra & Kennedy’s are nan closest to being meet-ready.
• Makayla showed disconnected a coagulated YF successful nan Halloween intrasquad, truthful I’ll put her connected present arsenic to not disregard her entirely, and Shannon made a passing remark that this was thing she would activity on, though could beryllium a twelvemonth distant (she had 2 DNP seasons astatine U of I, if I retrieve correctly).
• Vault has nan biggest chance for improvement, arsenic nan wide landings successful 2025 were beautiful inconsistent. They scored 49.30+ 5 times successful 2025, but besides scored sub-49 4 times (ew) aft not having that hap astatine each successful 2024. So yeah… obscurity to spell but uppity-up!
• When I asked Shannon if nan scheme was to person each six rotation slots beryllium 10.0 commencement worth vaults successful September, he said, “That would beryllium ideal, but we are going to measure nan execution deductions, level of individual risk, and make nan smartest individual decisions we can. I fishy we will spot immoderate Yurchenko Fulls astatine times during nan season.”

• NOTES: CGN names Kimarra, Makayla and Hannah arsenic locks successful their Dec. 5 imaginable lineups piece, while calling freshman Maiya Terry’s gienger “astoundingly airy.”
• Makayla Green, nan Illinois transfer, scored 9.90+ 5 times past season, truthful yeah… methinks she’s a lock.
• Illinois State transportation Sara Wabi was nan MIC bars champion, scoring a 9.90 past season, and secured a 9.80+ successful 9/14 meets, truthful she is decidedly successful nan mix.
• Shannon has called Hannah Horton, nan NCAA Regionals bars co-champ, to beryllium nan adjacent Tiger to gain a 10.0 connected bars, and fundamentally told america to bookmark it. DONE. ✔️ The WCGA Postseason All-American scored a 9.90+ 3 times this season, and a 9.85+ 9 times.
• I spot nary measurement successful which Olivia Kelly, who earned WCGA Second Team Postseason All-American honors connected bars successful nan nationalist semifinals, isn’t a fastener for this rotation.
• Rayna told nan media aft nan Halloween intrasquad that 1 of her goals for nan play is to get an NQS connected bars, which would require her to beryllium successful six meets. She looked awesome astatine B&G, I thought. For reference, Rayna competed bars 4 times successful 2025, scoring 9.825 aliases higher 3 times.

• NOTES: I deliberation this is Year of nan Beam, you guys. The extent present is conscionable astonishing. Three — THREE!!! — group scored 9.95 astatine nan Black & Gold meet, and 2 much scored 9.90! It was eye-opening, to opportunity nan least.
• CGN called Liv, Addi & LMac locks successful their aforementioned lineups piece. I’d besides telephone Amy & RJ locks arsenic well, truthful there’s 5/6 of nan lineup correct there… ohio boy.
• Liv and Addi return arsenic 2nd squad WCGA Second Team Postseason All-Americans aft their phenomenal performances successful nan nationalist semifinals.
• While LMac sat retired past twelvemonth pinch nan achilles injury, she was a FORCE astatine San Jose State, scoring nether a 9.825 conscionable doubly each season, and I’m excited to spot her successful her last twelvemonth of assemblage gymnastics.
• Kennedy, Hannah and Rayna are my existent wild cards here, arsenic KG & Rayna person sparsely competed beam since their freshman seasons, and Hannah has ne'er collegiately competed beam. I’d simply emotion to spot them get a changeable successful what will beryllium a VERY difficult lineup to make.

• The Tigers invited backmost six routines successful 2026 who scored a 9.90 aliases higher, and six times scored 49.500 aliases higher (should person been much than that if not for immoderate genuinely idiotic scoring).
• Kennedy Griffin returns arsenic a Second Team Regular Season All-American connected floor, aft earning her first 10.0 of her profession astatine nan team’s Zou to nan Lou meet (R.I.P.) successful February. She besides ended nan play classed 14th nationally connected floor, aft scoring 8 scores of 9.925 aliases better, including 2 9.95.
• Hannah earned 4 9.90+ scores, including 2 9.925, while Elise earned 8 scores of 9.875-plus (she was underscored for my liking aggregate times). Raya had a fabulous play connected nan floor, taking nan leadoff reins from ET erstwhile she needed to remainder her back, earning 3 scores of 9.90+, each of which matched aliases exceeded her erstwhile profession precocious 9.90.
• If Olivia tin get her double arabian nether power — it’s very difficult — I deliberation she pushes for lineup inclusion, for sure.
• When speaking pinch Jackie Terpak successful September for my too-early preview, she said, “Going into this season, our attraction is to activity pinch our student-athletes to upgrade their routines and find nan champion scheme for them! For immoderate it mightiness beryllium upgrading their difficulty, while others whitethorn beryllium focusing connected upgrading their execution, their consistency, aliases their capacity quality. Everyone has a personalized plan, and our extremity is to put together a regular that is awesome but 1 that they will beryllium clean, assured and accordant with.” She choreographed (I think) 14 caller level routines this autumn and is consistently making changes and tweaks.

• After nan Black & Gold intrasquad meet connected December 12, Shannon told america to watch retired for nan sophomores, successful particular. “I really consciousness for illustration our past year’s freshmen (this year’s sophomores), they really person an opportunity to really person a immense impact,” he said. “I felt for illustration they were doing really good past year; they conscionable had a batch of group successful beforehand of them connected events, and I deliberation you sewage to get done that freshman year.”
• When asked really you travel up connected past year’s finish, Shannon said, “You know, I deliberation it was nan opening of nan twelvemonth I was emotion a small pressure, for illustration really do I repetition that? And past we’re moving to nan arena arsenic well. And I’m like, alright, listen. Our job, really we sewage present successful nan first place, really we sewage to this level, was conscionable focusing connected doing nan champion occupation pinch our squad that twelvemonth and maximizing ability. And that’s really each we’re trying to do. You know, if that gets america backmost to a nationalist final, past awesome, right? But we conscionable want to maximize what our young ladies are tin of, and I surely deliberation that puts america successful a position to beryllium going backmost to nan NCAA championships connected a yearly basis.”
• Kimarra Echols was named to CGN’s Freshman of nan Year Watchlist. Here’s what they had to say: As nan seventh-ranked enlistee successful her class, Echols thumps retired erstwhile Tiger awesome Amari Celestine and now-teammate Olivia Kelly arsenic Missouri’s highest-ranked enlistee ever and will beryllium expected to play a awesome domiciled successful keeping nan programme successful nan apical 10. She’s nan cleanable fresh for a level lineup that conscionable mislaid 2 large routines, arsenic Echols’ personality, performance, and powerful full-in will construe seamlessly to nan collegiate level. Her Markelov connected bars and cleanable activity connected vault and beam will person her threatening for galore lineups for nan Tigers.
• The “Achilles Twins,” Lauren Macpherson and Grace Anne Davis, person returned for a last play successful nan achromatic and gold. At nan team’s Halloween intrasquad, Shannon said, “I get a small affectional erstwhile I spot them getting retired location successful beforehand of nan crowd again. They did a really bully occupation pinch it, too… You know, those young ladies didn’t person to travel backmost for a 5th aliases sixth year, but they chose to, and I deliberation that’s exciting, that they’re going to execute astatine nan level that they were hoping to.”
• When asked what makes this squad truthful successful, Lauren Macpherson said, “We each are conscionable truthful different, and we each create specified a bully situation for nan team. And I consciousness for illustration without each and each 1 of us, for illustration we don’t person that success, but together, we will person that. It’s conscionable really nosy to beryllium successful nan gym each azygous day, and everything’s truthful ray and fun, and we tin conscionable get things done.”
• Shannon called retired Sara Wabi for her level prowess astatine Media Day, truthful methinks she could activity her measurement into what is going to beryllium a hotly contested lineup. “I deliberation Sara Wabi is going to beryllium large complete location for us,” he said, earlier besides mentioning Kaia (who I had beautiful overmuch auto-penciled successful to nan lineup).

I’m truthful excited. Stay tuned for updates.