Years worth of top prospects are in Salt Lake City this weekend. Will Utah gymnastics benefit?

Utah leaned more toward the Elite ranks with its roster in 2024, but of the newcomers in 2025 only one — Norah Christian — is an Elite. Stroud, the only 5-star prospect in Utah’s class, is a Level 10 …

Starting Friday at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy, top college prospects from across the country will compete against each other at the 2025 USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program national championships.

Otherwise known as DP nationals, the three days of competition will pit the best American gymnasts at Levels 8, 9 and 10 against each other.

The gymnasts competing this weekend will ultimately comprise the majority of college signing classes in the coming years, starting next season and going through 2029.

The only type of top college prospects not competing this weekend are Elite gymnasts, among whom are national team members who have a chance to compete in international competitions like the world championships or the Olympics.

Multiple Utah signees and/or commits are slated to compete this weekend, including 5-star signee Bailey Stroud and 4-star signee Abbi Ryssman, both of whom are members of Utah’s No. 7-ranked 2025 signing class, plus Madison Denlinger, a Utah commit for 2026.

It was at DP nationals that current Utah star Avery Neff first made a name for herself, winning multiple national titles in consecutive years. Her dominance at the event ultimately led to her being the highest rated college gymnastics prospect ever, per College Gym News.

Upwards of 2,500 people — gymnasts, parents and their club coaches — have descended upon the Wasatch Front for DP nationals, making this week especially valuable for Utah gymnastics.

Utah gymnastics’ recruiting philosophy under Carly Dockendrof

Official recruiting visits and contact initiated by Utah’s coaching staff can’t begin for recruits until the summer before prospects’ junior year in high school per NCAA rules, but that doesn’t mean this weekend isn’t a boon for the Red Rocks on the recruiting trail.

Prospects can, of their own accord, go visit and tour the University of Utah, and Utah’s gymnasts, meanwhile, are not prohibited in any way from meeting and bonding with prospects. At the opening ceremonies of DP nationals Thursday night at America First Field in Sandy, Neff was one of two keynote speakers and afterward posted numerous photos on her Instagram story of her meeting with some of the country’s more promising young gymnasts.

Carly Dockendorf is still relatively early in her tenure as Utah’s head coach — not even a full two years in — but there is reason to wonder how she and Utah will recruit going forward.

Under former head coach Tom Farden, the Red Rocks reeled in top 25 classes in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Three of those classes landed in the top 10 nationally, with the 2024 class (the one that included Neff, Zoe Johnson, Clara Raposo and Poppy-Grace Stickler) ranking No. 2 overall.

Dockendorf played a part in recruiting members of all of those classes, and Utah’s 2025 signing class, as previously mentioned, is ranked No. 7 overall.

Level 10 gymnasts such as Neff, as well as Johnson and Camie Winger, to name a few, will be a critical part of the roster-building equation for Dockendorf going forward, she told the Deseret News, though her hope is to balance Level 10 prospects with Elite prospects, much like Utah has done for years.

“I think definitely a balance (of type of prospects) is kind of something we’ve always had at Utah,” Dockendorf said. “The Elites bring different qualities than the Level 10s. They’ve competed on podium a lot of the time and in really high pressure meets all around the world, which means they’ve had to learn how to adapt and adjust.

“Some of the Level 10s compete more locally and are really familiar with the same meets that they go to every year. A lot of clubs go to almost the same meets year after year, maybe rotating one or two out and then the (Women’s Development Program) national championships or the Nastia Liukin Cup are kind of their biggest meets of the year. I do think that having a bit of a balance is good for us. The Elites tend to be a little bit more beat up sometimes with their years of training, which is a lot more extensive than some of the Level 10s.”

Striking a balance between the type of prospects brought aboard is common across women’s college gymnastics. National champion Oklahoma is known for raiding the Level 10 ranks and then supplementing with a few capable Elite gymnasts. Florida is known for targeting Elites a little bit more, but the Gators still have plenty of Level 10s on their roster.

Utah leaned more toward the Elite ranks with its roster in 2024, but of the newcomers in 2025 only one — Norah Christian — is an Elite. Stroud, the only 5-star prospect in Utah’s class, is a Level 10 standout.

Dockendorf noted that she also wants to emphasize internationals in recruiting going forward, building off what Utah has done in the last five years with gymnasts such as Raposo, Stickler, Amelie Morgan and Lucy Stanhope.

“We also like to balance our international and our like local athletes,” Dockendorf said. “I think they also bring a healthy mix to our environment.”

The internationals Utah targets are Elites themselves, and because of that their timeline isn’t exactly the same as many American prospects.

“Typically the internationals don’t (commit) until later in their career,” Dockendorf said. “They’re not looking (to commit) on June 15 going into their junior year.

“It’s more when they’re finishing their education, and for the athletes we’re looking at, they’re typically on national teams so maybe they’re staying to do the Olympics or (the world championships), whatever it might be, so their timeline is much different, not as consistent as the American athletes, but I love having international athletes. They just bring a different perspective on things.”

Who are the top prospects competing at DP nationals?

Utah will need Level 10 gymnasts going forward, no matter what, which is what makes this weekend so valuable. The Red Rocks — and the state of Utah — have a chance to impress the up-and-coming stars in the sport without having to actively do much.

Who are the gymnasts to watch this weekend?

Source: Utah News