Officially the Offseason

NCAA Gymnastics play is officially over, and a new reigning champion, nan Oklahoma Sooners, has been crowned. Congrats to KJ Kindler & Co., arsenic they were nan champion squad connected nan day. How do we cognize that? Oh, possibly because they were nan only squad of nan 4 competing who had each regular shown?

Before we get to nan Mizzou each of it all, which is why you are here, let’s springiness a infinitesimal for who I’d for illustration to call America’s Team, nan Minnesota Golden Gophers, who came into nan postseason a existent underdog, classed no. 13 successful RTN standings pinch nary azygous servants of nan state classed wrong nan apical 10 (#12 beam, #14 floor, #15 vault, #17 bars), and nan lowest classed squad to make it to nan nationalist title finals since 2014. How did ABC/ESPN hole for this momentous occasion? Just really they did for Mizzou past year, you guys! With erasure from nan broadcast!!! [she says sarcastically… and truthfully]. But seriously, assemblage gymnastics watchers knew nan imaginable was location for greatness, having vanished nan play arsenic a apical 10 squad 4 times since 2020. Mizzou, conversely, has done this doubly successful that aforesaid timeframe (no. 3 successful 2025 and no. 5 successful 2022).

The Golden Gophers punctual maine a batch of nan Tigers, and they decidedly made a instrumentality of me. One— nan authorities of Minnesota has been done A LOT and I want thing but nan champion for them, and two— they are conscionable a ace nosy squad to guidelines for, from their A-plus societal media crippled to nan magnetic performances from athletes for illustration freshmen Arianna Ostrum, Lacey Saltzmann and Emma Slevin, who hails from Ireland. And lest you forget, erstwhile Gopher gymnast-turned adjunct coach Mya Hooton was an honorary Tiger past twelvemonth erstwhile she rotated pinch them astatine nan nationalist semis.

This Minnesota squad showed immoderate inconsistencies this season, scoring an unfathomable 195.075 connected nan roadworthy astatine Nebraska connected January 24 to spell on pinch a 195.475 successful nan opener and 5 196 scores (Mizzou had 4). But this aforesaid squad besides knocked disconnected preseason darling Arkansas astatine location connected January 10 —apparently thing Gymbacks caput coach Jordyn Wieber forgot astir erstwhile she grounded to mention nan Gophers arsenic title successful her property convention — and had aggregate precocious 197 scores successful March, including a 197.700 connected March 1 and a 197.825 successful their last regular play meet of nan play connected March 15. Both of those scores, by nan way, were higher than thing Mizzou was capable to put together this season, truthful yes, whether aliases not you realized it, Minnesota is simply a very bully team. After a 3rd spot decorativeness and a spot of a equilibrium beam business astatine nan Big 10 Championships, Minny was placed successful nan Corvallis, Oregon regional, aliases what I’d fondly telephone nan Region of Death. With a 196.975, nan Gophers came from down aft a subpar first 2 rotations to overtake Iowa successful nan waning moments to beforehand to nan Regional Finals, past had to clasp disconnected Utah, who had NEVER MISSED A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCE IN 49 YEARS, no. 4 UCLA, and no. 5 Alabama to get to nan nationalist championships. Like I said, nan Region of Death.

Minnesota put together their 3rd highest people of nan season, a 197.625, and hit retired Utah, who vanished successful 3rd and conscionable 0.125 down them, arsenic good arsenic Alabama, who was successful a distant 4th pinch a 197.175 to scope nan nationalist semifinals. My gym recreation partner, Ben Hartong, and I watched this meet connected my iPad connected nan measurement backmost to CoMo from Lexington — well, I watched and narrated and he drove — and nan Golden Gophers shined, earning apical 3 finishes from freshman Arianna Ostrum (VLT— 9.95, 1st/ FX— 9.95, 2nd), inferior Jordan Lyden (UB— 9.95, 1st / BB— 9.95, 1st / FX— 9.925, 3rd), and elder Brooklyn Rowray (BB- 9.925, 2nd).

It was IMPRESSIVE, and conscionable for illustration we each predicted, eh?

They, for illustration Mizzou nan twelvemonth before, earned their first ever Four connected nan Floor bid connected Friday evening pinch a 197.4625, beating retired a UCLA (197.275) squad that galore thought could triumph nan full damn thing, nan aforesaid measurement that our adjacent Tigers (197.300) hit retired Florida (197.200) past year. It was an electrical capacity by nan Gophers, earning nan 2nd highest scores of nan convention down OU connected bars (49.3875), their weakest servants of nan state this play and beam (49.3875). Again, conscionable for illustration we each predicted.

The similarities don’t extremity there. The Golden Gophers besides crowned an individual nationalist champion successful elder Brooklyn Rowray, who scored a 9.9625 connected beam to return nan triumph single-handedly. Mizzou’s Helen Hu did nan aforesaid point a twelvemonth before, connected nan aforesaid apparatus, earning a 9.9875. #Memories

On Sunday, Minnesota’s play came to an extremity pinch a 4th spot decorativeness and ace coagulated 197.375, and had they gotten a spot much favorable scoring— really precisely does 1 beam judge people Brooklyn Rowray a 10 and different a 9.85, exactly? — it could person been moreover person (Florida vanished 3rd pinch a 197.6875). Alas, nan Gophers person made a instrumentality outta me, and I’m judge betwixt this capacity and their believe installation facelift, it’ll do wonders for their recruiting, and I’m looking guardant to watching them adjacent season.

Mizzou’s last competitor successful 2026 was nary different than inferior Hannah Horton, who won a whopping 19 arena titles for nan Tigers this season. H2 rotated pinch Arkansas astatine nan nationalist semifinals connected Friday evening, and did a phenomenal occupation connected bars, earning a 9.8875 (4x 9.90, 1x 9.85, 1x 9.80) and an wide 16th spot decorativeness retired of full 56 competitors dispersed retired among 2 semifinals.

Gymnastics superstar writer (and my friend) Nate Salsman was connected tract successful Fort Worth for Inside Gymnastics and was able to drawback a quote. “She wants to do nan work. She knows that that wasn’t possibly her strongest arena coming in, but she loves bars and she loves nan challenge,” bars coach Whitney Snowden told him.

When asked astir anticipation for her elder season, she said, “Hannah tin do thing she puts her mind to. We’re connected 10.0 watch connected aggregate events.”

Per nan aforementioned Nate (the Great), Shannon Welker and Whitney Snowden told him to support an oculus connected nan portal, truthful that’s precisely what we will do, and nan squad put retired this terrific video from 2 of its All-American transfers to talk astir their experiences astatine The Zou.

Side Note: Keep your eyes peeled for thing really typical from maine and an unspecified Tiger gymnast successful nan adjacent week aliases two.

The Tigers person immoderate vacancies disposable for nan adjacent awesome portal additions. If Makayla and Addi have, successful fact, wrapped up their respective gymnastics careers — they some person a twelvemonth of eligibility remaining — that leaves 3 holes to capable arsenic nan roster limit is group astatine 21.

Let’s reappraisal wherever we stand.

We also, of course, will besides beryllium keeping a adjacent oculus connected nan future, arsenic a trio of babe Tigers successful nan nation’s no. 6 recruiting people earned location titles astatine meets astir nan state past weekend, including Raegan McCarty, who won a level title successful her Region 5 meet pinch a 9.775, Dakota (Coco) Haynes, who won a Region 6 bars title pinch a 9.750, and Imani White, who won a Region 8 beam title pinch an astonishing 9.90 (watch nan regular astatine nan link).

Imani besides earned a 9.875 connected vault pinch her Yurchenko 1.5 (which looks an atrocious batch for illustration a 10 successful NCAA), a 9.825 connected bars and a 38.925 successful nan all-around. Raegan earned a 9.675 connected vault.

For their performance, nan trio earned a travel to Level 10 DP Nationals, which will return spot May 6-10 successful Oklahoma City, alongside teammate Kendall Morgan, who vanished 4th successful nan all-around and 2nd connected some vault (9.725) and beam (9.575) successful her convention of nan Region 8 meet.

Per adjunct coach Jackie Terpak, nan apical 7 finishers successful each property group gain spots astatine DP Nationals, truthful nan Tigers will beryllium well-represented successful OKC successful a fewer weeks and I’m judge we’ll person plentifulness of results and videos to share.

“I actually, I deliberation each arena we person is going to get stronger adjacent year,” Shannon told america aft nan Regional Final. “I cognize we’re losing a mates of routines present and there, but what we’re going to create on pinch what’s stepping successful nan door, I deliberation group are going to beryllium really impressed with. If they for illustration this twelvemonth and past year, I deliberation adjacent twelvemonth is going to beryllium beautiful impressive.”