Latest news with #JadeCarey
Forbes
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Top NCAA Gymnasts To Return To Elite Competition In 2025
While the 2025 NCAA Women's Gymnastics season wrapped in late April, a new elite gymnastics season is just starting. This year's collegiate meets saw 14 Paris Olympians or Olympic alternates competing among the NCAA ranks. However, many athletes' competitive seasons did not end at the 2025 NCAA National Championships. Instead, the following gymnasts intend to return to the sport's highest level of competition, with many seeking spots at the 2025 World Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia. Olympic gold medalists Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey remain undecided on returning to elite gymnastics, with Carey indicating that 2025 is likely off the table. 'Taking 2025 off would just help my body and mind relax a little more,' she told After a historic season with the UCLA Bruins, Chiles is focused on preparing for her final year as an NCAA gymnast. Though a run for Jakarta seems unlikely, she has not ruled out elite competition in 2025 and beyond. The top NCAA gymnasts expected to vie for elite assignments in 2025: Skye Blakely just wrapped her freshman season with the Florida Gators. Blakely was among the most anticipated additions to the 2025 class, entering Gainesville as a two-time World Champion with Team USA and a World finalist on balance beam. Though a force on all four events, she was limited to uneven bars with the Gators after tearing her Achilles tendon at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. The injury marked her second consecutive Olympic bid cut short due to injury. Before her injury, Blakely was considered a shoo-in for the 2024 Olympic Team, finishing second overall at the 2024 National Championship to only Simone Biles. Blakely has been methodically pacing her return to the remaining events, showing progress in training videos posted in early April. Despite injury setbacks, Blakely has her sights set on the 2025 World Championships. Known for her world-class work on the beam and immense potential in the all-around, gymnastics fans excitedly anticipate her return to the elite stage. From U.S. National Team Member to NCAA National Champion and Olympian, Aleah Finnegan has seen it all. She completed her final season for the LSU Tigers, wrapping a stellar career with two national and three SEC titles. Finnegan's most significant career moments came in 2024. In April, she clinched LSU's first team championship with a near-perfect beam routine. Later that summer, she appeared alongside Filipina-American teammates Emma Malabuyo and Levi Jung-Ruivivar, representing the Philippines for the first time on the Olympic stage. Though the Tigers fell short of defending their title in Finnegan's senior season, she quickly announced her intentions outside NCAA gymnastics. Both Finnegan and Malabuyo indicated their desire to return to elite competition in an interview with Scott Bregman ( 'As of now, I'm set to compete in December, actually with [fellow Filipina Olympian and UCLA standout] Emma Malabuyo," she told Bregman. 'We're going to go over to the Southeast Asian Games to compete.' The Southeast Asian Games are scheduled for December 7–19 in Thailand. From one Filipina American trailblazer to another, Emma Malabuyo also completed a noteworthy career with her collegiate squad in April 2025. The 22-year-old led UCLA to second place, its best finish since 2018, and helped the team to the Big Ten regular season and championship titles. A world-class performer on the balance beam, Malabuyo also added an individual silver medal on the event in Fort Worth to close her NCAA career. Like Finnegan, Malabuyo has made history on the mat for the Philippines. Malabuyo excelled on both the U.S. and Philippine stages, making the 2021 U.S. Olympic team as an alternate and the 2024 Philippines team as a competitive athlete. In addition to appearing at the Olympics, she won gold on floor at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, making her the first Philippine female gymnast to do so at those games. She and Finnegan will return to the SEA Games this December, hoping to replicate Malabuyo's gold medal moment. Konnor McClain's NCAA career may have just started, but she's been a staple in the elite gymnastics community for years. Though she's excelled on the NCAA stage – helping LSU to its 2024 title and earning multiple SEC titles, McClain is hungry for more. In 2022, she was the No. 1 elite gymnast in the United States, winning the national title over eventual World all-around silver medalist Shilese Jones. Considered a prodigy by many, the 20-year-old is arguably one of the most talented athletes in the sport. However, McClain's elite success never truly took flight due to untimely injuries and personal hardships, including her father's death in 2021 due to COVID-19. Her goals were complicated again by a tragic Achilles tear in late May 2024, just over a month before the Olympic Games. While McClain has not detailed concrete plans to return to competition, she has insinuated a comeback. 'My story definitely isn't over yet, and I remind myself of that every single day,' she told in April. Joscelyn Roberson is the first of two 2024 U.S. Olympic alternates who have shown intent to return to elite after the 2025 collegiate season. The powerhouse athlete just wrapped up a historic freshman season with Jordyn Wieber's Arkansas Razorbacks. In her first year in the NCAA, Roberson set numerous records for the Razorbacks, including the highest all-around score for a freshman in program history (39.625). Though Arkansas failed to advance its team to nationals, Roberson qualified as an individual, the program's first freshman qualifier since 2017. Roberson hasn't missed a beat since April's NCAA Championships. The 19-year-old appeared at May's U.S. National Team Camp and likely has her sights set on the 2025 World Championships. Though she clinched a World title with Team USA in 2023, an injury in warmups prevented her from competing to her full potential. At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, she impressed fans and the selection committee, nailing her routines to finish first on balance beam and fourth on floor, good for an Olympic alternate spot. Sporting some of the world's highest difficulty on floor and beam, 2025 could be the year for Roberson to capture individual accolades. Canadian elites took the NCAA by storm in 2025, and two-time Olympian Ava Stewart was at the helm. Stewart quickly became a lineup staple on vault, bars, and beam in her freshman season for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Stewart peaked at the right time for the Gophers, delivering scores of 9.875 or higher on all three events at the 2025 Big Ten Gymnastics Championships, leading the Gophers to a top-three finish behind UCLA and Michigan State. With her clutch performances, she secured a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and All-Big Ten Second Team. Known for bringing world-class difficulty to the collegiate stage, Stewart should easily transition back to the elite level. Like many of her fellow elites, Stewart returns to the elite stage just a month after completing her collegiate season. She will take to the floor this May at the 2025 Canadian Championships in Calgary. Iowa standout freshman Aurélie Tran will join Stewart in Calgary at May's 2025 Canadian Championships. Tran was one of three Canadians joining Iowa's roster for the 2025 season, and the Québec City native quickly made a name for herself in a highly competitive Big Ten Conference. In her first season, Tran emerged as a leader for the Hawkeyes, recording 15 event titles, 33 top-three finishes, and eight scores of 9.900 or higher in 2025. A 2024 Paris Olympian and Canadian all-around silver medalist, Tran delivered her best gymnastics at the 2025 Big Ten Championships, recording a career-high 39.525 in the all-around. With her stellar results in the regular season, Tran secured First Team All-Big Ten and All-Freshman team honors, making her just one of two freshmen to earn both awards. With her 2025 elite season beginning this coming week in Calgary, the rising star looks to qualify for her second World Championships. Fewer athletes have shown more longevity and persistence than Leanne Wong. At just 21 years old, Wong is already a two-time U.S. Olympic alternate, a four-time World medalist, and a seven-time NCAA medalist. In addition to her medal count, she is a trailblazing entrepreneur, an author, and a soon-to-be medical student. Though her Florida Gators fell short of achieving their ultimate goal at April's NCAA Championship, she completed a terrific career with the Gators, including an individual NCAA title, five SEC titles, and nine perfect tens. While many fans suspected Wong's career would soon end after years of high-level competition, the veteran continues to push forward, appearing on the official billing at May's U.S. National Team Camp. It's hard to imagine that an athlete of Wong's drive and caliber wouldn't have sights on Jakarta in the fall. After all, she's done it before. At the 2021 World Championships, Wong delivered, claiming silver in the all-around and bronze on floor. Could 2025 bring more accolades for the 'renaissance gymnast?" For now, Wong shows no signs of slowing down.
Forbes
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Two Olympians, Two National Champs Represent Gymnastics For 2025 Honda Sport Award
AUBURN, ALABAMA - JANUARY 24: Jade Carey of the Oregon State Beavers competes on the floor during a ... More meet against the Auburn Tigers at Neville Arena on January 24, 2025 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by) The best female gymnasts in NCAA sports have entered the chat. Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma), Jade Carey (Oregon State), Audrey Davis (Oklahoma) and Aleah Finnegan (LSU) are their sport's four Honda Sport Award nominees. The Honda Sport Award is a prestigious achievement, recognizing the top female athletes from 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. Each of these sports receives four nominees, and the 12 winners of the Honda Sport Award are automatically in the running for the Honda-Broderick Cup award, which represents the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. The last gymnast to win the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year was the University of Alabama's Kim Jacob in 2014. Jade Carey (Oregon State) is a finalist for the Honda Sport Award for the fourth time in her career. Carey, the 2021 and 2024 Olympian, has had a jam-packed year following her Paris Games run. She jumped right back into the NCAA, where she was ranked No. 1 in the regular season for both balance beam and all-around. She also earned four perfect tens and won the 2025 AAI Award–which is considered the Heisman Trophy of gymnastics. FORT WORTH, TEXAS - APRIL 17: Jordan Bowers of the Oklahoma Sooners wins the all-around national ... More championship during the Division I Women's Gymnastics Championships held at Dickies Arena on April 17, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma) secured a finalist spot for the Honda Sport Award for the second time in her career. Additionally, this year, Bowers earned SEC Gymnast of the year in Oklahoma's first year in the SEC, was named an AAI Award Finalist and was the NCAA National all-around champion, which helped her team win their seventh National Championship. Bowers also recorded the highest all-around score in the NCAA in 2025, firing a 39.9 after three perfect tens on vault, bars and floor. Audrey Davis (Oklahoma) is a first-time finalist for the Honda Sport Award. She is a two-time AAI Award Finalist (2024, 2025), was ranked No. 1 in the regular season on uneven bars, averaging a 9.931 after scoring a 9.975 three times and a 9.95 six times this season. Davis also helped her team bring home the 2025 NCAA Championship. Aleah Finnegan (LSU) is also a first-time finalist for the Honda Sport Award after competing back-to-back on the world and collegiate stages. She competed in the 2024 Paris Games representing the Philippines and then went straight back into training for the NCAA season. Finneagan was a finalist for this year's AAI Award, earned a perfect 10 on balance beam, which is the same event where she secured the National Championship for LSU in 2024. The Honda Sport Awards will be presented on June 30 at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
NBC News
17-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC News
Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey highlight Olympic stars to watch in gymnastics national championships
March Madness may be over, but for college gymnastics the madness has just begun. Some of the biggest names in the sport — from Olympic champions to social media superstars — will compete in the NCAA gymnastics championships in Fort Worth, Texas, this week. Eight teams will compete in Thursday's semifinal, with four advancing to Saturday's final. Olympians on the competition floor will include 2024 gold medalists Jordan Chiles (UCLA) and Jade Carey (Oregon State), as well as 2021 silver medalist Grace McCallum (Utah). International Olympians like Aleah Finnegan (LSU) and U.S. Olympic alternates Leanne Wong (Florida), Joscelyn Roberson (Auburn) and Emma Malabuyo (UCLA) will also contend for national titles. LSU fifth-year gymnast Livvy Dunne, whose social media presence has contributed to enormous NIL attention in the sport, will aim to help the Tigers win their second national title. LSU enters as the defending national champion and the No. 1 seed over Oklahoma, a dynastic program that has won six of the last 10 national titles. The Sooners were the heavy favorites last year after a nearly flawless 2024 season, but a disastrous semifinal performance with multiple falls kept them from making the final. After having held the No. 1 ranking for most of this year, they are well-positioned to challenge LSU and reclaim their title. How to watch The NCAA gymnastics championships kick off with the semifinal rounds Thursday on ESPN. The first of two semifinals air live at 4:30 p.m. ET, and the second is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. ABC will broadcast the final at 4 p.m. ET Saturday. Both the semifinals and final will also stream on ESPN+. How does the competition format work? In college gymnastics, six gymnasts from each team compete in each of the four events (vault, bars, beam and floor), with the top five scores per event counting. That means one gymnast's falling off the balance beam won't ruin her team's chances, but a second missed beam routine might. Some versatile all-around gymnasts compete in all four events, while some gymnasts specialize in just one or two events. Much as in basketball, winning the NCAA gymnastics championship requires a team to make it through a series of elimination rounds, emerging victorious in its bracket until it is the only team left standing. Since the beginning of April, 36 Division I gymnastics teams have been whittled down to the 'Elite Eight.' Four teams compete in each of the two semifinal rounds in Fort Worth, with the top two teams from each advancing to Saturday's final. The first semifinal this year will consist of LSU, Michigan State, Utah and UCLA. Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida and Alabama will compete in the second semifinal. Individual titles, including the all-around and event titles, are decided in the semifinal round. The team national champions and three runners-up will be determined by the final round Saturday. How is college gymnastics different from Olympic gymnastics? Unlike the gymnastics performed at the Paris Olympics last summer, college gymnastics still uses the perfect 10 system. That makes the scoring much more intuitive than it is in Olympic-level gymnastics. Most of the top teams will earn relatively high scores, but a great score at the national championships will be 9.95 and above. Gymnasts will be deducted tenths for things like extra steps on landings, tumbling out of bounds, and of course, falls. A team can earn a maximum of 200 points in a meet, and the top team is likely to need above a 198 to win, barring meltdowns by all four teams. LSU's winning score last year was a 198.225, meaning it lost less than two points across 20 routines. Who is favored to win? This year's matchup is likely to be one of the closest national championships in years, with eight strong teams in the hunt. LSU and Oklahoma are the likeliest winners, but in a sport as precarious as gymnastics, nothing is guaranteed. After it failed to qualify for nationals last year, UCLA is in the hunt for its first win since 2018. Florida, which arguably has the deepest roster in the sport, can never be counted out, but it last won in 2015. Utah has solidified itself as one of the most consistent programs in the country, and it is the only team in the country to have qualified for every national championship in history. It is often in the top three teams in the country but hasn't won it all since 1995. Michigan State and Missouri are looking to win their first championships. Carey, a strong contender for the individual all-around, won this year's AAI Award, the gymnastics equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy. Oklahoma's Jordan Bowers is the only gymnast in the country to have matched Carey's all-around record this year, having earned a 39.900 last week with three perfect 10s in one meet. LSU's Haleigh Bryant is the reigning all-around champion, but she has been hampered by injuries this season. Carey also ranked first in beam, while Chiles is the favorite to win the floor exercise title. Florida's Selena Harris-Miranda has dominated the vault all year, and Oklahoma's Audrey Davis is the uneven bars leader.
Forbes
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Jade Carey Wins The AAI Award, ‘Gymnastics' Heisman Trophy'
CORVALLIS, OREGON - JANUARY 11: Jade Carey of the Oregon State Beavers prepares to compete on the ... More vault at Gill Coliseum on January 11, 2025 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by) On Tuesday, three-time Olympic medalist Jade Carey added another title to her extensive trophy case. The Oregon State gymnast was named the 2025 AAI Award Winner, an honor often considered the 'Heisman Trophy of Women's Gymnastics.' Initiated in 1982 and facilitated by American Athletic Inc., the AAI Award 'recognizes the top senior female gymnasts in the nation for their dedication, leadership, and excellence in the sport.' Nominated initially alongside more than fifty fellow athletes, Carey's name rose to the top. Carey received the award Monday at a banquet for the upcoming NCAA National Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. Five of her fellow NCAA competitors joined her, accepting honors as finalists for the esteemed award. Along with Carey – a two-time Olympic Champion – the six finalists included four Olympic athletes and a pair of star seniors from the Oklahoma Sooners gymnastics team. Carey's Olympic teammate, Utah's Grace McCallum, was among the final six nominated for the award. They were also joined by 2020 and 2024 Olympic alternate and entrepreneur Leanne Wong (Florida). As the AAI Award recipient, American Athletic designates Carey as the "most outstanding senior collegiate female gymnast in the country." With her win, Carey joins Oregon State greats Mary Ayotte-Law (1982), Joy Selig (1991) and Chari Knight (1994) as the only AAI Award winners in program history. In her final year as an NCAA athlete, Carey has continued breaking records on and off the mat. Her gymnastics ability and unmatched consistency are unrivaled. After three impeccable seasons for the Beavers, Carey managed to raise the bar in her final year as a college athlete. AUBURN, ALABAMA - JANUARY 24: Jade Carey of the Oregon State Beavers competes on the floor during a ... More meet against the Auburn Tigers at Neville Arena on January 24, 2025 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by) Carey racked up 51 event titles in 2025, winning the all-around and beam in every single appearance. In doing so, she became the first gymnast in Pac-12 history to win both the beam and all-around titles in every regular season competition. Across her 52 routines competed, Jade never scored below 9.85 – an unprecedented feat of consistency. In gymnastics, her record was virtually perfect. She wasn't just consistent – she was flawless. She scored a 9.9 or higher on 88% of routines in 2025, tallying 13 9.95s, 10 9.975s, and five perfect tens. On March 15, she logged the fourth-highest all-around score in NCAA history, a 39.925 – just .075 shy of a 'perfect 40.' While the Oregon State Beavers ultimately failed to qualify as a complete team, she led the program to the 'Sweet Sixteen,' winning the regional all-around championship in the process. With her win, Carey booked a solo trip to Fort Worth to compete for individual national championships. She next takes to the floor on Thursday, April 17, where she seeks her first NCAA title after five trips to the podium. CORVALLIS, OREGON - JANUARY 11: Jade Carey of the Oregon State Beavers smiles during a post-meet ... More huddle against the BYU Cougars at Gill Coliseum on January 11, 2025 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by) Though not as flashy as her sky-high tumbling and stuck landings, Carey's work off the mat is also of elite caliber. Oregon State Athletics reports that Carey has excelled in her studies as an Oregon State student. Carey has logged a 4.0 on three occasions and nabbed a spot on the university honor roll seven times. In recognition of her academic achievements, Carey was named to the Pac-12 Honor Roll in 2023 and 2024. Outside of her studies, Carey is a trailblazer in women's empowerment and athletic leadership on campus. Carey is a co-president of Oregon State's WomenLEAD chapter, an organization 'dedicated to empowering and uplifting female student-athletes.' Oregon State reports that Carey, as co-president, was an architect behind an outreach event, 'Play Like A Girl.' Conducted on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the event aimed to cultivate girls' and women's sports in the local Corvallis community. 'Being a part of WomenLead fuels my passion for uplifting the voices of women in sports, building resilience, and celebrating our strength,' Carey said in a post from early 2025. 'OSU is filled with so many brave and strong leaders that I can't wait to continue to empower and support.' On Thursday, Carey's illustrious NCAA career will come to a close. The senior will compete in the second of two semifinals in the 'Elite Eight' round, rotating with the defending National Champion No. 1 LSU Tigers at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Though Carey has numerous accolades, including five top-three finishes on the NCAA podium, she has yet to win an NCAA title. Whether the elusive title comes on Thursday or not, the Olympic and World Champion's impact on Oregon State and the greater gymnastics community is worth its weight in gold.
USA Today
06-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NCAA gymnastics regionals 2025: Schedule, how to watch Oklahoma, Florida women
NCAA gymnastics regionals 2025: Schedule, how to watch Oklahoma, Florida women Oregon State's Jade Carey, Florida's Leanne Wong and Oklahoma's Faith Torrez are among gymnasts hoping to book their spots today for the NCAA championships. Oregon State's Jade Carey, Florida's Leanne Wong and Oklahoma's Faith Torrez are among the stars leading their teams at today's regional finals. Regional finals in Alabama and Washington will determine which teams join LSU, Michigan State, Utah and UCLA in the NCAA championships in Fort Worth, Texas. LSU and Michigan State were the first teams to get through, finishing 1-2 in the Pennsylvania regional Saturday. Out of the Utah regional, the host Red Rocks advanced along with UCLA. Here's a look at today's regional finals: NCAA gymnastics schedule Alabama regional final No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Cal, No. 11 Alabama, No. 14 Oregon State Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa When: 6 p.m. ET Sunday, April 6 Streaming: ESPN+ Florida's Leanne Wong helped lead the Gators to the regional final, scoring a 9.950 on beam Friday night, tied for the top mark along with Jade Carey of Oregon State. Wong was second in the all-around with a score of 39.775 behind Carey (39.85). Wong, who has been a member of the U.S. senior and junior national teams, was the 2024 NCAA co-champion on uneven bars. Washington regional final No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 7 Missouri, No. 15 Auburn, Arizona Where: Seattle When: 8 p.m. ET, Sunday, April 6, 2025 Streaming: ESPN+ Oklahoma's Faith Torrez scored the first perfect 10 of her career on beam on Friday night to lead the Sooners to a 198.025 victory. Auburn was second with a score of 196.950 to also advance to the Seattle regional final. Torrez claimed four titles in the all-around, bars, beam and floor. She was co-champion on bars with teammates Jordan Bowers and Audrey Davis.
