HBCU Gymnast Morgan Price Defends Historic National Title
CORVALLIS, OREGON - MARCH 21: Morgan Price of the Fisk Bulldogs competes on the floor exercise ... More during a gymnastics meet against the Oregon State Beavers at Gill Coliseum on March 21, 2025 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by)
The star of HBCU gymnastics shines again. Fisk University gymnast Morgan Price made history on Friday, successfully defending her national title. Earlier in 2025, Price became the first athlete representing a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to earn a perfect score in women's collegiate gymnastics.
Heading into Friday's competition as the defending National Champion, Price told me she planned to 'stay in (her) bubble.' 'I've worked so hard for these moments," she says. 'I want just to go out there, give it my best, and do what I normally do…if I do, I know everything will fall into place.'
As she has done time and time again, Morgan price delivered.
This time, Price's crowning moment came at the WCGNIC National Championships held in Shreveport, Louisiana. Competing in the second of two sessions, Price would need at least a 39.225 to claim the title over Southeastern Missouri's Taylor Ingle.
The sophomore started on vault with a 9.775, good for the fourth-highest score of the night. On bars, Price showcased spectacular flight and form on her releases, taking a step forward on landing for the second-best score of the session.
On the beam, Price impressed fans and the judges. At the most critical moment of her season, Price nailed her skills and difficult double-twist dismount, landing to an exuberant celebration from Coach Nuriya Mack. Her score? A season-high 9.90. The score would hold as the strongest of the competition.
Heading to floor, Price needed a 9.700 to tie Session I's leader. Averaging a 9.800 on the season, Price was capable of the win, but the All-American just needed to hit. In history-making fashion, the Fisk star nailed her opening pass, tumbling and dancing confidently to a strong 9.825.
Her final total, a formidable 39.350, edged the silver medalist by over one-tenth. Just like that, Price had defended her historic 2024 title. History, once again, for Fisk's Morgan Price.
In addition to claiming the all-around win, Price qualified to all four event finals with top-eight finishes on the four events. However, the star won't be alone in the event finals. Teammate Aliyah Reed-Hammon was spectacular on vault and beam, claiming top-two finishes on her two events. Reed-Hammon will compete alongside Price in their respective event finals.
Though Price isn't done quite yet, the title marks another notch in a historic career for the trailblazing athlete. Since Fisk University founded the first HBCU gymnastics program in 2022, Price has led the charge for the Bulldogs.
In her freshman season, Price became the first HCBU gymnast to earn a 9.90. In 2024, she made national headlines as the first college gymnastics National Champion from an HBCU program.
AUBURN, ALABAMA - FEBRUARY 2: Morgan Price of the Fisk Bulldogs competes on the balance beam at ... More Neville Arena on February 2, 2024 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by)
Price initially committed to compete alongside her sister, Frankie Price, for the top-ranked Arkansas Razorback gymnastics program. However, when Fisk announced the creation of their historic gymnastics program in 2022, Price knew where she needed to be. She switched commitments, and the rest was history.
Though her accolades are numerous, Price remains committed to elevating her team and HCBU gymnastics as a whole. 'I balance my personal success while also representing the larger HBCU community by knowing my worth,' Price tells me before today's competition.
'At the end of the day, gymnastics is a team sport…I do have those individual successes. But I really just keep that in the back of my mind,' she adds. Instead of focusing on her personal wins, Price emphasizes that she came to Fisk to prove that HBCU teams belong in Division I gymnastics.
'I came to prove that HBCUs can still score the same, with the same amount of meets as other Division I programs." Today in Louisiana, Price and her Fisk teammates proved just that.
When asked about the impact she and her teammates hope to leave on HBCU gymnastics and the sport as a whole, Morgan answers with passion. 'I feel like my personal success and the team's success will really influence the growth of HBCU gymnastics programs," she states.
Earlier this month, Morgan tied with Olympic Champion Jade Carey to win a vault title versus Oregon State, impressing gymnastics experts and fans. 'We are winning against Division I programs,' Morgan says excitedly. It's amazing to see how much growth the team has."
'We should continue to bring HBCU gymnastics to more HBCUs to just show and give more opportunities to young gymnasts,' she adds. With each monumental win and score, Price and the Fisk Bulldogs continue to elevate the sport.
After Sunday's event finals and her two remaining years at Fisk, Price aspires to become a coach – specifically, she would love to coach a future HBCU gymnastics team. She often speaks of how important it is to inspire the future of HBCU gymnastics.
'I know that that a lot of little gymnasts, whether they're a minority or not, look up to us because they see a whole team full of black and brown gymnasts doing the sport that they love, and it can show that you can also do (college gymnastics) as well, as long as you keep working hard and putting your mind to it,' she shares.
Though Fisk and Wilberforce University currently stand as the only HBCU schools supporting women's gymnastics, with gymnasts like Price continuing to pave the road for others, her dream (and the dreams of others) could become a reality.
Watch Morgan and Fisk teammate Aliyah Reed-Hammon go for more HBCU Gymnastics history during Sunday's event finals, broadcast live on Virtius.
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