2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics season preview: Athletes and teams to watch plus Week 1 complete schedule
Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallists Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles are set to continue their collegiate careers as the season gets underway on the first Friday of 2025.
Artistic Gymnastics
Olympic artistic gymnastics gold medallists Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles return to collegiate competition this week, marking the start of the 2025 NCAA women’s gymnastics season on Friday (3 January).
Carey, continuing her collegiate journey at Oregon State University, enters her final season following her participation at Paris 2024. Chiles, meanwhile, rejoins the UCLA Bruins as a junior after taking a season off to focus on her elite gymnastics career.
Olympic team silver medallist Grace McCallum (Utah), Leanne Wong (Florida), a two-time Olympic alternate, and Joscelyn Roberson (Arkansas), a Paris reserve, are also expected to compete this season.
Keep reading for a season preview, preseason rankings, and a Week 1 complete schedule.
Who to watch – 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics season preview
After claiming their first-ever NCAA team title last year, the Louisiana State University Tigers return nearly their entire roster, including standouts Haleigh Bryant and Philippines' Paris 2024 Olympian Aleah Finnegan, as they defend their crown.
The stacked squad also boasts 2022 U.S. champion Konnor McClain, who is recovering from an Achilles tear sustained at the U.S. Classic in May, and newcomers Zoe Miller and Kaliya Lincoln, who were both part of Team USA at the 2023 Pan American Games.
LSU is sure to face tough competition, including from a very motivated University of Oklahoma squad, which suffered a shock meltdown after entering as the favourites to win at last year’s NCAA semi-finals. Under coach K.J. Kindler, the Sooners have soared, capturing six national crowns.
The national runners-up from the University of California at Berkeley are also sure to contend this season, as the team continues its ascent under co-head coaches Justin Howell and Liz Crandall-Howell.
Perennial powers UCLA, Utah, and Florida, which boast Chiles, McCallum, and Wong, respectively, are also among the top teams to watch in the 2025 season.
One team to keep an eye on is the University of Georgia, winner of 10 NCAA titles, which hired Simone Biles' former coach Cecile Landi, a 1996 Olympian, after a disappointing run in recent years. Another is the University of Michigan, which has struggled since their 2021 NCAA win but has the top freshman class of the year, according to College Gym News.
WGCA Pre-Season Coaches Poll – 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics season preview
1. Oklahoma
2. LSU
3. Florida
4. California
5. Utah
6. Alabama
7. Kentucky
8. Arkansas
9. Missouri
10. UCLA
11. Michigan State
12. Denver
13. Michigan
14. Georgia
15. Stanford
16. Ohio State
17. Auburn
18. Minnesota
19. Oregon State
20. Arizona State
Week 1, complete schedule – 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics season preview
The first competitions of the 2025 women’s gymnastics NCAA season begin on Friday 3 January, with defending champions Louisiana State University hosting Iowa State.
The weekend’s complete schedule is below. All times are Eastern.
Friday 3 January
7pm – Ball State, Illinois State, and Southeast Missouri at Missouri
8:30pm – Iowa State at LSU
9pm – Utah State at Utah
Saturday 4 January
3pm – Cal, Oregon State, and UCLA (Pacific Coast Championship)
3pm – West Virginia at Temple
4pm – Western Michigan at Michigan State
5pm – Central Michigan at Minnesota
6:45pm – Auburn, BYU, Nebraska, and Oklahoma (Music City Championship)
9:30pm – Arizona, Rutgers, Southern Utah, and Wilberforce (Pacific Coast Championship)
Sunday 5 January
2pm – New Hampshire and Penn at Penn State
5pm – UC Davis and UW-Oshkosh at Sacramento State
5pm – Michigan at Denver
2025 women’s NCAA college season, Week 1 – how to watch
Fans in the United States can watch more than 100 hours of live women’s collegiate gymnastics action during the 2025 season across ESPN platforms, including this week’s match-ups between Iowa State and No. 1 LSU, and No. 19 Michigan and No. 10 Denver.
For more streaming and television information, visit the Balance Beam Situation.