Oklahoma remains on top in women's gymnastics Week 14 power rankings

We’ve been saying all season long that the parity among teams and conferences is at an all-time high. That certainly proved to be the case during this year’s regional competitions, as seeded team after seeded team was eliminated until only eight remained (and probably not the eight you were expecting). Upsets were rife in the individual qualifications, too, with several of the nation’s regular-season All-Americans falling on the wrong side of the postseason bubble. With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at who and what to expect in Fort Worth!

Teams

1. Oklahoma
2. LSU
3. California
4. Florida
5. Alabama
6. Utah
7. Arkansas
8. Stanford

What else is there to say about Oklahoma? The Sooners weren’t nearly as sharp as they were at Big 12s—particularly on vault—yet still finished around a point higher than the competition. We can quibble over scores until the cows come home, but this team is just impossibly good. From the lead-off to the anchor and all the routines in between, there just aren’t that many built-in deductions to take when the lineups hit (which they almost always do). Any team can have an off day in this sport, and that’s almost certainly what it’s going to take to keep Oklahoma off the top of the podium.

Now, if the Sooners do end up opening the door, LSU and Cal are the teams most likely to capitalize: LSU has faced steady criticism for its uneven performances on the road this season, but it put those concerns to rest with a decisive win in the stacked Fayetteville final. Likewise, the Golden Bears shook off whatever was holding them back at the Pac-12 championship, delivering a record-breaking postseason performance in front of their home crowd.

Florida easily cruised to victory in Gainesville with a season-high performance, while Utah staged a truly impressive comeback after counting a miss on bars in the opening rotation. Neither the Gators nor Utes have shown as much flash or scoring potential as the Sooners, Golden Bears, or Tigers, but they have the consistency and championship pedigree necessary to contend for the title.

Alabama and Arkansas have both struggled with consistency this season but look strong and in peak form heading into the final weekend. Both programs are led by coaches still early in their tenure, and are each making their first nationals appearances under their current leaders. The Crimson Tide is a dark horse to return championship glory while the Razorbacks are seeking their best finish ever. If nothing else, expect both squads to apply pressure to the top seeds.

Rounding out the top eight teams is the unseeded underdog, Stanford. There are Cinderella stories and then there’s “pulling a Stanford.” The Cardinal had nowhere to go but up after its dismal season opener against Michigan, culminating in what can only be described as a storybook ending at the Berkeley regional—a perfect 10 on the final routine of the competition to punch its ticket to nationals. Can the team “pull a Stanford” one more time in Fort Worth?

All-Around

1. Haleigh Bryant, LSU
2. Jordan Bowers, Oklahoma
3. Mya Lauzon, California
4. Jade Carey, Oregon State
5. Leanne Wong, Florida
6. Luisa Blanco, Alabama

The top three all-arounders coincide with the top three teams in the country, as each of them has been crucial in getting their programs to where they are now. Bryant finished off her regionals weekend with a huge 39.850 thanks to 10s on vault and bars to end her meet; she’ll head to nationals as a favorite for the all-around title along with Bowers, who’s gone 39.675 or better in her last 13 outings, and Cal star Lauzon.

Carey qualified to Fort Worth as an individual, but don’t bank on competing without a team to affect her performance—after all, she won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics as an individual qualifier. She’s been vaulting the 9.950 start value Yurchenko all season long, but watch out for a possible upgrade to a double since she'll be competing on podium.

Wong hasn’t been in the 39.7s in over a month and didn’t top the all-around during either of her sessions at regionals, but she’s consistently capable of putting up numbers that can contend for the title. Likewise, Blanco rested on floor during round two, but she remains an underdog threat for an all-around victory after finishing second to Bowers at regionals.

Dark Horse Contender: Chloe Widner, Stanford

Widner is the reason Stanford is at nationals. Her 39.700 in round two of regionals was enough to push the Cardinal ahead of No. 14 Auburn and into the final, where she upped her total to a 39.725 with a clutch 10 on floor to seal the deal. She and the Cardinal are undeniably heating up at the right time.

Vault

1. Haleigh Bryant, LSU
2. Mya Lauzon, California
3. Katherine LeVasseur, Oklahoma
4. Sierra Brooks, Michigan
5. Mya Hooten, Minnesota
6. Jordan Bowers, Oklahoma

Bryant was at her high-flying, flared-out best in the Fayetteville final, earning the tenth 10.0 of her career and cementing herself as the one to beat for the NCAA vault title. Echoing Bryant, Lauzon was fantastic on all four events in the Berkeley final, but the highlight was the electrifying Yurchenko one and a half that earned a career-high perfect 10.

LeVasseur and Brooks boast two of the most fundamentally sound Yurchenko one and a halves in the NCAA, so it’s no surprise that they led the pack in Round Two at Ann Arbor. Bowers couldn’t quite find the stick on either of her two vaults this week, but—as she demonstrated at the Big 12 championship, she’s guaranteed top marks when she does.

In a classic example of peaking at the right time, Hooten has dialed in the landing of her typically bouncy Yurchenko one and a half just in time for the postseason. She earned a share of the Big Ten title alongside Brooks and turned in a near-identical 9.975 in Fayetteville to snag the individual spot.

Dark Horse Contenders: KJ Johnson, LSU, and Leah Smith, Arkansas

Vaulters competing the 9.950 SV Yurchenko full rarely factor into the NCAA championship podium, but juniors Johnson and Smith are imminently capable of holding their own against the rest of the field if they stick. It’s especially going to be an uphill task for Johnson, who typically leads off the Tigers’ vault rotation. However, if we learned anything from regionals, it’s that anything can happen in the postseason!

Bars

1. Audrey Davis, Oklahoma
2. Jordan Bowers, Oklahoma
3. Leanne Wong, Florida
4. Grace McCallum, Utah
5. Luisa Blanco, Alabama
6. Haleigh Bryant, LSU

Davis earned bars silver at the 2022 championships but will be looking to cap off her senior season with the top prize. Teammate Bowers isn’t as flashy of a bar worker as Davis, but she just doesn’t miss: Every skill and every position is bang on every single time. This duo packs a formidable one-two punch, and it’s not unreasonable to expect one or both to finish on the podium.

Wong punctuated the Gators’ win with what has become her signature move—a definitively stuck double layout. With landings more of a difference-maker than ever during the postseason, that could be the decider for a national title after a set showcasing her elite form and technique.

McCallum helped keep the Red Rocks’ postseason hopes alive with a clutch 9.950 on bars following a lead-off fall. In fact, she hasn’t scored lower than a 9.850 since February. The same steadiness that secured her a spot on the 2020 Olympic team is exactly what gave Utah its record 48th consecutive championship berth in Gainesville.

Blanco has been nothing short of excellent on bars the last few weeks and already has multiple NCAA All-America honors to her name, including her second-place finish as an individual qualifier on the event last year. She’ll have the benefit of competing with her teammates for the first time since 2022, making her even more of a podium threat this time around. Also bear in mind that this is the one event separating her from a Gym Slam.

If you asked gym fans to name the best bar workers in the NCAA, Bryant likely wouldn’t immediately spring to mind. However, like Bowers, she’s exceptionally clean and rarely misses. She notched her third perfect 10 of the season during last weekend’s regional final, and—if she sticks her dismount—is definitely in the hunt for the individual title in Fort Worth.

Dark Horse Contenders: Lily Smith, Georgia, and Mara Titarsolej, Missouri

Gainesville individual qualifiers Smith and Titarsolej are each known for their brilliant technique and have the perfect 10s to prove it. The details matter on bars, arguably more than on any other event, and the details are what set Smith and Titarsolej apart.

Beam

1. Ragan Smith, Oklahoma
2. Maile O’Keefe, Utah
3. Faith Torrez, Oklahoma
4. Abby Paulson, Utah
5. Mya Lauzon, California
6. Ellie Lazzari, Florida

Get ready for a battle royale in the second semifinal which features the season’s four beam queens: Smith, O’Keefe, Paulson, and Torrez. The Red Rocks’ star duo will begin their day on beam while the Sooners compete in Olympic order. Smith has the advantage after securing her seventh 10.0 of the season at the Ann Arbor regional final, but it’s worth bearing in mind that O’Keefe scored 10s in both of her nationals routines a year ago.

Before her breakout year as an all-arounder, beam is the event that put Lauzon on the map. From the back-breaking mount sequence to her polished triple series, it’s the perfect event to showcase both her power and flexibility. She and longtime Florida beam star Ellie Lazzari will be the biggest threats to the top four (though you may want to keep an eye on Stanford’s Chloe Widner, too).

Dark Horse Contender: Konnor McClain, LSU

One of the season’s most anticipated freshmen has made her biggest impression on beam, where her consistency has been stellar and important in allowing her finesse to flourish. After a week one fall, McClain has been as low as the 9.8s just twice and has earned a pair of 10s along the way.

Floor

1. Jade Carey, Oregon State
2. Raena Worley, Kentucky
3. Jordan Bowers, Oklahoma
4. Aleah Finnegan, LSU
5. Chloe Widner, Stanford
6. Gabby Wilson, Michigan

This is arguably the hardest field to predict because there are so many excellent floor workers with such a wide variety of strengths and styles. A remarkable 19 gymnasts posted an NQS of 9.950 or better this year, and these are just some of the ones still in the running.

After an uncharacteristically off performance in week 10 and subsequent rest, Carey unveiled her full-twisting double layout (yes, you read that correctly) at the Pac-12 championship and has earned back-to-back 10s for her efforts. All the more impressive is how darn flawless her execution of the skill is—there’s no unofficial difficulty bonus being applied; it’s truly just that good.

In one of the week’s most shocking upsets, Worley and the Wildcats finished third behind LSU and Arkansas in the Fayetteville final. Though Carey got the nod in the all-around, Worley managed to qualify individually on her trademark event over another fan favorite, Minnesota’s Hooten (who will be competing on vault). She’ll be looking to close out her record-setting career by becoming the first Kentucky gymnast since Jenny Hansen to bring home a national title.

Finnegan has struggled somewhat with consistency this year—hardly surprising given a nagging wrist injury and the fact that she’s training for the Olympics—but when she’s on, she’s ON. The junior star was decidedly on at regionals, averaging a 9.975 toward the Tigers’ team scores, including a perfect 10 during round two.

Bowers hasn’t scored below a 9.950 since week two, including a trio of 10s culminating in her career performance at Big 12s. Widner’s stock is also on the rise after delivering that epic walk-off 10 to advance her team to the NCAA championships for the first time since 2016.

Even in such a stacked field, floor is individual all-around qualifier Wilson’s best chance at a podium finish. It’s been a tough season for Michigan, but Wilson’s huge, open tucked full-in and energetic performance have been an undeniably bright spot for the Wolverines.

Dark Horse Contenders: Chae Campbell, UCLA, and eMjae Frazier, California

The Pac-12 will be in the hunt for plenty of titles in its final NCAA championships, with these two in the thick of things for the floor crown. Senior Campbell is the lone representative of UCLA’s touted floor party and may be the most engaging performer at the meet while Frazier’s powerful tumbling and textbook landing positions leave little opportunity for deductions.