What’s next for Utah gymnastics?

FORT WORTH, Texas — Life waits for no one, especially not in sports.

The 2025 women’s college gymnastics season ended Saturday evening with Oklahoma winning its seventh title in the past 11 seasons (the 2020 season is excluded as the pandemic forced that season to end without a national champion).

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The University of Utah’s team, the Red Rocks, finished fourth in the national title meet and, before the results were officially official — there was a bit of confusion on that front — the minds of many fans had already turned to next year.

That is sports. When disappointment strikes, well, there is always next year.

So where does Utah stand going into the 2026 season? How are the Red Rocks situated? Who is coming in as reinforcements?

Time to break down what’s next for Utah gymnastics.

Who is returning for Utah?

Twenty-four routines were competed by 10 gymnasts Saturday for Utah in the national championship meet. Three of those gymnasts won’t be around next season, at least not as competitive gymnasts.

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Jaylene Gilstrap, Grace McCallum and Amelie Morgan have all exhausted their eligibility — the caveat here being eligibility restrictions of any kind by the NCAA are being challenged in court. McCallum will be back as an assistant coach next season but her competitive days as a Red Rock are over.

Those three combined to compete eight routines in the national championship — in other words, one-third of Utah’s routines in the most important meet of the year.

That being said, only 20 routines are counted in a meet, and of the routines Utah counted in the national title meet, 14 will be back next season. Said another way, that is 70% of the routines that counted for the Red Rocks in the biggest meet of the year.

Those routines are from Elizabeth Gantner, Ashley Glynn, Avery Neff, Ana Padurariu, Makenna Smith and Ella Zirbes. Each had at least one routine go for 9.8750 or better in the national championship. Neff, Padurariu and Zirbes each broke the 9.9 barrier at least once.

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Which is to say, Utah will have a solid corps of gymnasts who’ve proven they can compete at their best when it matters the most.

All told, Utah will return — barring any transfers or early medical retirements — 12 gymnasts from the 2025 team.

Here’s the list:

• Elizabeth Gantner (junior)

• Ashley Glynn (senior)

• Zoe Johnson (sophomore)

• Olivia Kennedy (junior)

• Sarah Krump (senior)

• Avery Neff (sophomore)

• Ana Padurariu (senior)

• Clara Raposo (sophomore)

• Makenna Smith (senior)

• Poppy-Grace Stickler (sophomore)

• Camie Winger (junior)

• Ella Zirbes (junior)

That group includes four All-Americans (either regular season or postseason).

Neff and Smith should get the most attention, simply because they were two of Utah’s most impactful gymnasts in 2025. In the national championship meet, they finished third (Neff) and sixth (Smith) overall in the all-around competition.

Smith will enter 2026 as the senior leader of the team. And based off her 2025 season — easily her best yet — she could be in line for one of the most memorable senior seasons by a Red Rock.

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As for Neff, she was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year for a reason. A burgeoning superstar before she even competed for Utah, Neff is a straight up superstar after her freshman season. Utah will rely heavily on her, and she has proven she can thrive under that load.

Zirbes had an up-and-down sophomore campaign, but she was on at nationals (save for on vault where she was replaced by Gilstrap), scoring a 9.9 or better every time she competed. Zirbes dealt with considerable performance anxiety in 2025, but she largely found a way to manage that and has the potential to be at the least a three-event star for Utah, if not a replacement for McCallum in the all-around.

And though Winger struggled at the end of the year and in the postseason, her ability on balance beam made her an All-American on the event. Winger, at times, also competed three events in 2025 and Utah will likely need to her do that more in 2026.

Glynn competed three events this season and did well. Odds are she will do so again in 2026, though Utah will hope she is more consistent in her senior season. When at her best, Glynn can put up some monster scores on uneven bars and vault. Glynn wasn’t always near or at her best, however.

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Padurariu ended the season strong on beam, becoming a key cog in that lineup. Early in the season she was in real contention on bars and it is likely that she will earn a spot in that lineup in 2026.

Johnson proved herself a great vaulter late in the year, her performance in the national championship notwithstanding. A former top 10 recruit, Johnson could easily slot into Utah’s floor lineup and maybe threaten for lineup spots elsewhere.

Gantner competed solely on beam in 2025 and when Neff returned from injury she fell out of the lineup. That is, until the national championship, and Gantner was ready. She could, maybe should be a regular in the beam lineup going forward.

The rest of the roster — Kennedy, Krump, Raposo and Stickler — have a lot more to prove. Krump competed the most in 2025, following Neff’s injury, but Raposo and Stickler are the most highly touted (Raposo was a five-star recruit in the 2024 class).

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It would not be a surprise to see Raposo take on a much larger role in 2026 and if Stickler can return to health she should be able to make a run at a spot on floor. Kennedy’s best event is bars and there will be some openings, albeit not too many. And Krump could vie for a spot on either beam or floor.

Even without accounting for Utah’s incoming freshmen class, the 2026 team will be deep with a wealth of proven talent. It will be deep enough and experienced enough to believe that the Red Rocks won’t take any sort of step back from contention at the top of the sport.

Who is incoming for Utah?

There are four gymnasts slated to join the Red Rocks in 2026, which will — again barring transfers or early medical retirements — balloon Utah’s roster to 16 gymnasts.

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They are:

• Bailey Stroud

• Norah Christian

• Abbi Ryssman

• Sage Curtis

The group is an intriguing one.

“We have a lot of different personalities coming in next year,” Neff said.

Stroud was a five-star recruit who blew up as a recruit after coming back successfully from injury. The Indiana native is a multi-time national champion (in the all-around and on beam), who should immediately challenge for spots in Utah’s bars, beam and floor rotations.

If there is a star in Utah’s 2025 class, it should be Stroud. She has the sort of talent that makes it a real possibility that she becomes an all-arounder for the Red Rocks, even if that doesn’t happen during her freshman season.

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Christian and Ryssman, meanwhile, were both four-star recruits who were previously committed to different programs before deciding Utah was the right place for them.

Both are top 50 recruits, Christian and Ryssman are complementary gymnasts.

Christian, a former Elite, looks the strongest on floor, and is capable on both bars and vault. Ryssman on the other hand was a national champion on beam as a Level 10.

Christian should contend for a spot in Utah’s floor lineup, at the worst providing real depth. And she could, under the tutelage of assistant coach Jimmy Pratt, crash the bars lineup with some unique and compelling skills.

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Ryssman could make a real run at a lineup spot on beam. It shouldn’t be a surprise if she locks down a spot in the lineup, even at the expense of a returning Red Rock.

As for Curtis, the Utah native was a three-star recruit who has scored a perfect 10 on vault as a Level 10 and won a national title on the event.

Utah will have openings in its vault lineup, at least two possibly more. Curtis could slot into one of those spots immediately.

Per the usual, Utah landed some talent recruits, all of whom will have a case for why they should compete in 2026. At worst they will provide depth, which is vital in a sport where injuries happen early and often. In 2025 Utah was without two gymnasts — Rucker and Stickler — for essentially the entire season and also lost other gymnasts for weeks at a time, like Neff, Johnson and Padurariu. Depth isn’t a luxury Utah has always had, but the Red Rocks will have it in 2026.

Will Utah be back at the national championships in 2026?

The Red Rocks will be vying for a 50th trip to the NCAA women’s gymnastics championships next season. That is the reality. Utah’s expectations are to always make it to nationals and compete for a national title and that isn’t about to change any time soon.

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The Red Rocks will also be the favorite to win the Big 12 Conference title — regular season and postseason titles each — in 2026 as well. Denver was the chief competition in 2025 and the Pioneers are looking at a serious rebuild after losing multiple fifth year seniors.

Really, in a lot of ways, Utah shouldn’t look too dissimilar in 2026 from how it did in 2025. The Red Rocks should be a top five team in the regular season and an argument can be made that Utah should be top two given the personnel losses that LSU, Florida and UCLA are looking at.

The Red Rocks should be deeper next season and they were deeper this year than about any Utah team that came before them. The team is also lined up to be incredibly balanced with four gymnasts in every class. They’ll be balanced when it comes to event strengths, too.

There are proven all-arounders (Neff, Smith) and aspiring all-arounders (Stroud, Zirbes). There are intricate event standouts (Padurariu, Gantner), leg event stars (Glynn, Johnson) and plenty of gymnasts ready to join them.

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The roster Carly Dockendorf has constructed looks — on paper — elite. Another great edition of Utah gymnastics.

There will be questions about mental toughness, confidence and resolve. The fourth place finish at the 2025 national championship left a lot to be desired.

Barring a rash of transfers or major injuries, Utah should be what it always has been though — one of the nation’s best women’s gymnastics teams.