Da Boot Sports
3/30/2026
By: Da Boot Sports Staff


   LSU Gymnastics had their weekly press conference on Monday afternoon. Haleigh Bryant and Head Coach Jay Clark met with the media to answer questions. 

   *Video of the press conference is posted below....

Da Boot Sports
3/23/2026
LSU Sports Communications
By: Alyssa Leal


   BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU Gymnastics team has been selected as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming 2026 NCAA Gymnastics Championships, claiming their 41st straight regional berth on Monday. The Tigers road to Fort Worth will begin at home in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Thursday, April 2nd.


   LSU (2), Stanford (7), Michigan (10) and Clemson (15) are the four teams that earned a national seed in the Baton Rouge Regional. Auburn, North Carolina, Utah State, Air Force and Nebraska make up the remainder of the teams that will head to Louisiana to compete for a spot in the national championships. 

   This year's NCAA Regional berth for the Tigers marks their 43rd overall appearance in the postseason. LSU owns 34 NCAA Championships appearances and 15 NCAA Regional championships in program history.

  All nine teams from the Southeastern Conference are among the 36 teams set to compete in the 2026 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships. Eight SEC schools earned National Seeds, starting with No. 1 Oklahoma, the 2026 SEC regular-season champion, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Florida, winner of the 2026 SEC Gymnastics Championships. They are joined by No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 Missouri, No. 9 Arkansas and No. 16 Kentucky.

   The top 36 teams, based on the National Qualifying Score (NQS), were selected for regional competition. The committee named the top 16 teams and seeded them in the bracket, while teams 17-36 were placed geographically at one of the four predetermined regional sites (LSU, Kentucky, Oregon State and Arizona State). The NQS at the time of selections will be maintained for seeding throughout the championships.

   All Regional competitions can be viewed on ESPN+.

   No. 2 LSU will open regional competition in the evening session of the NCAA Second Round on Thursday, April 2nd at 7 p.m. CT against No. 15 Clemson, Auburn and the winner of the first round play-in round between Air Force and Nebraska at 2 p.m. CT on Wednesday, April 1.
No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 Michigan, North Carolina and Utah State will compete in the first session on Thursday at 1 p.m. CT.. The top two teams from each session of second round competition on Thursday will advance to the regional final on Saturday, April 4, which is set for 5 p.m. CT.

   The top two finishers in Saturday’s regional final will receive an automatic berth to the national championships in Fort Worth from April 16-18 in Dickies Arena. At the national championships, semifinal team, all-around competition and individual event specialist finals will be conducted in two sessions. The top two teams from each semifinal will advance to championship final competition.  

   Both Semifinals on Thursday, April 16 will air on ESPN2, and the National Championship on Saturday, April 18 will be broadcast live at 3 p.m. CT on ABC.

   For tickets and more information regarding the 2026 national collegiate women's gymnastics championships, go to ncaa.com/wgymnastics. The complete bracket is available at ncaa.com.

2026 NCAA Gymnastics Regional Sites:

Baton Rouge Regional (LSU, host)
No. 2 LSU*
No. 7 Stanford
No. 10 Michigan
No. 15 Clemson
Auburn
North Carolina
Utah State
Air Force
Nebraska
 
Lexington Regional (Kentucky University, host)
No. 1 Oklahoma
No. 8 Missouri
No. 9 Arkansas
No. 16 Kentucky*
NC State
Maryland
Ohio State
Central Michigan
Rutgers
 
Corvallis Regional (Oregon State, host)
No. 4 UCLA
No. 5 Alabama
No. 12 Utah
No. 13 Minnesota
Denver
Oregon State*
Iowa
San Jose St.
Washington

Tempe Regional (Arizona State, host)
No. 3 Florida
No. 6 Georgia
No. 11 Michigan State
No. 14 California
BYU
Southern Utah
Penn State
Arizona State*
Arizona

Baton Rouge Regional Schedule:

Wednesday, April 1 - First Round
Air Force vs. Nebraska                                                                                              2 p.m. CT

Thursday, April 2 - Second Round
Session I - No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 Michigan, North Carolina, Utah State                 1 p.m. CT
Session II - No. 2 LSU, No. 15 Clemson, Auburn, Air Force/Nebraska                    7 p.m. CT

Saturday, April 4 - Regional Final
Top 2 from each Second Round                                                                                  5 p.m. CT
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Da Boot Sports
3/21/2026
By: Terrill J. Weil


   TULSA, OK - LSU traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the SEC Gymnastics Championships, competing in Session Two on Saturday night. LSU ended up finishing third with a 197.950. 


   LSU started on the bars in the first rotation. Lexi Zeiss kicked things off with a nice 9.900.  Ashley Cowan followed with a 9.850.  Madison Ulrich scored a solid 9.900.  Kailin Chio finished with an outstanding 9.950.  Courtney Blackson earned a 9.875 and Konnor McClain finished off the rotation with a 9.750.  As we headed to the next rotation, LSU sat in second place with a 49.475.

   The Lady Tigers moved to the Beam for rotation two. Kylie Coen led off with a 9.850.  Lexi Zeiss posted a 9.800.  Amari Drayton followed with a 9.850.  Kaliya Lincoln then scored a 9.900.  Konnor McClain added a fantastic 9.950.  Anchor Kailin Chio scored a super nice 9.950. LSU moved up into first place after two rotations with a 98.975. 

   Rotation three sent LSU to the Floor. Emily Innes got things started with a nice 9.900.  Next, Nina Ballou posted a 9.875.  Kalie Coen followed with a solid 9.900.  Amari Drayton posted a 9.825.  Kailin Chio then scored a 9.900.  Anchor Kaliya Lincoln finished with a fantastic 9.950. With one rotation left to go, LSU fell to second place with a 148.500.

   The final rotation had the Lady Tigers on Vault. Lexi Zeiss led off with a 9.875.  McClain posted a 9.850.  Roberts posted a solid 9.900.  Lincoln added a 9.850.  Drayton followed with a 9.800.  Chio posted an amazing 9.975, could of easily been a perfect ten. LSU finished the meet in third place with a 197.950. The Florida Gators took first place to win the SEC Championship.

   Next up, LSU will wait to hear who they will take on in the first round of the NCAA Regionals. Round one takes place on Wednesday, April 1 at 2:00pm...

Da Boot Sports
3/16/2026
By: Da Boot Sports Staff


   LSU Gymnastics had their weekly press conference on Monday afternoon. Konnor McClain, Nina Ballou and Head Coach Jay Clark met with the media to answer questions. 

   *Video of the press conference is posted below....

​*John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
3/13/2026
By: Terrill J. Weil


   BATON ROUGE, LA - The #2 Lady Tigers hosted #8 Arkansas in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and exploded for a huge 198.075 - 197.100 victory. 

   The Lady Tigers started the night on the Vault. Lexi Zeiss led off with a 9.825.  Courtney Blackson scored a 9.775.  Victoria Roberts followed with a solid 9.900.  Kaliya Lincoln posted an impressive 9.950.  Amari Drayton put up a 9.850.  Anchor Kailin Chio scored a fantastic 10.000.
We headed to the second rotation with LSU leading 49.525 to 48.800.

   Next up, LSU moved to the Bars. Lexi Zeiss started things off with a 9.850.  Ashley Cowan followed with a 9.825.  Madison Ulrich then scored a nice 9.900.  Alexis Jeffrey finished with a 9.850.  Courtney Blackson sputtered with a 9.300.  Anchor Konnor McClain scored a very solid 9.950. After the second rotation, LSU was on top, 98.900 to 98.175.

   Rotation three sent LSU to the Beam. Kylie Coen led off with a 9.750.  Lexi Zeiss finished with a 9.825.  Amari Drayton then posted a 9.825.  Kaliya Lincoln scored a very solid 9.900.  Konnor McClain scored an incredible 9.925. Anchor, the amazing Kailin Chio posted another perfect 10.000! As we headed to the fourth and final rotation of the night, LSU remained in the lead, 148.375 to 147.600.

   LSU headed to the Floor for the final rotation. Emily Innes started things off with a 9.850.  Nina Ballou followed with a very nice 9.900.  Kylie Coen then posted a fantastic 9.925.  Amari Drayton scored a very strong 9.900.  The amazing Kailin Chio finished with an incredible 10.000. Anchor Kaliya Linclon closed out the night with a super 9.975. 
   The Lady Tigers closed out the regular season with a dominating 198.074 to 197.100 victory over the Lady Hogs. 

   LSU finished the season, 11-3-1 overall and 5-3 in the SEC. Next up the Lady Tigers will participate in the SEC Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday, March 21 at 7:00pm. 


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Da Boot Sports
3/2/2026
By: Da Boot sports Staff


   LSU Gymnastics had their weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Alexis Jeffery, Chase Brock, Tori Tatum and Head Coach Jay Clark met with the media to answer questions. 

   *Video of the press conference is posted below....

​*John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
3/8/2026
By: Terrill J. Weil


   GAINESVILLE, FL - The #2 Tigers traveled to Gainesville to take on the #4 Florida Gators and lost a very close and competitive meet, 198.450 to 198.325. 

   LSU started the day on Bars in the opening rotation. Lexi Zeiss led off with a 9.700.  Ashley Cowan then scored a 9.300.  Madison Ulrich followed with a nice 9.900.  Kailin Chio posted a solid 9.900.  Courteny Blackson added a 9.900.  Anchor Konnor McClain finished the event off with a fantastic 9.975.  After sputtering out of the gate in rotation one we found the meet in a tie, 49.375 to 49.375.

   The Lady Tigers moved to the Vault in rotation two. Lexi Zeiss got things started with a 9.825.  Konnor McClain posted a very solid 9.925.  Victoria Roberts followed with a 9.850.  Kaliya Lincoln then earned an amazing 9.975.  Amari Drayton finished with an incredible 9.975.  Anchor Kailin Chio finished the rotation off with a rock solid 9.975.  As we headed to the third rotation, LSU now held a slim 99.075 to 99.000.

​   Rotation three sent LSU to the Floor. Emily Innes led off with a 9.850.  Nina Ballou followed with a 9.875.  Kylie Coen then posted a nice 9.925.  Amari Drayton then scored a strong 9.900.  Kailin Chio finished with a super 9.925.  Anchor Kaliya Lincoln closed the rotation out with an incredible 9.975.  In one of the most competitive meets of the season, Florida squeaked ahead, 148.700 to 148.675 as we moved to the final rotation of the day. 

   LSU headed to the Beam for the fourth and final rotation. Kylie Coen started things off with a 9.825.  Lexi Zeiss then posted a 9.875.  Amari Drayton followed with a super nice 9.950.  Kaliya Lincoln finished with a strong 9.950.  Konnor McClain scored a solid 9.900.  Anchor Kailin Chio finished off the meet for the Lady Tigers with a fantastic 9.975.  On a day when I personally found that several of the judges scores were controversial, LSU fell just short on the road, 198.450 to 198.325.

   The Lady Tigers fall to 10-3-1 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. Next up LSU will return home to host Arkansas on Friday, March 13 at 7:30pm. 

Da Boot Sports
3/2/2026
LSU Sports Communications
By: Alyssa Leal


   BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 2 LSU Gymnastics team (10-2-1, 4-2 SEC) finished on top of the fourth-annual Podium Challenge with their score of 198.200 on Sunday afternoon in the Raising Cane’s River Center.

   The Tigers closed out their double weekend with their second highest score of the season and third score of 198.000 or higher. No. 2 LSU finished first in Sunday’s quad meet followed by No. 13 Alabama in second (197.650), North Carolina in third (195.950) and Arizona in fourth (195.500).

   Sophomore Kailin Chio posted another perfect score at the meet, marking her fourth meet with a perfect 10 and third straight on beam. Chio also earned a perfect score on beam in the Tigers previous two meets against No. 3 Alabama and No. 1 Oklahoma.

   She is now at seven total perfect 10’s in her career, with six of those coming just this season and four coming on beam. Her seven career perfect 10’s share the seventh spot for most in program history. She is currently tied with Lloimincia Hall, needing one more to share the program record eight with Aleah Finnegan, Kiya Johnson and April Burkholder. 

   LSU started the meet on vault, where sophomore Lexi Zeiss led off with a 9.900. Konnor McClain followed with a career high 9.925 in spot. Going third was Victoria Roberts, who scored a 9.850. Kaliya Lincoln followed with another 9.850 in spot four before junior Amari Drayton drilled a team-high 9.95 in the fifth spot. In the anchor spot, Kailin Chio finished the rotation with a 9.850.

   The Tigers went 49.475 in the first rotation.

   Next, LSU headed to bars where freshman Haley Mustari led off the Tigers with a 9.775 in only her second career appearance on the event. Senior Ashley Cowan put up a strong 9.925 in the second spot, her second consecutive score of 9.9+, followed by a 9.900 from Madison Ulrich in spot three. Chio earned the highest score of the rotation with career high 9.950 in fifth before McClain anchored with a 9.900. 

   It was a strong 49.550 rotation for the Tigers with the 99.025-98.675 lead over Alabama at the halfway point in the River Center. UNC sat in third and Arizona in fourth. 

   Junior Kylie Coen got things started for the Purple and Gold on beam with a 9.875 followed by a 9.725 from senior Emily Innes in the second spot. Drayton matched her career high a 9.925 ahead of sophomore Kaliya Lincoln with a career high score of 9.950 in spot four. McClain delivered another 9.950 in the fifth spot that set up Chio’s perfect 10 in the anchor spot to round out the beam lineup for the Tigers. It was a 49.625 for LSU on beam.


   LSU moved to its final rotation of the afternoon, where Innes led off the squad with a strong 9.900 on floor. Freshman Nina Ballou followed suit with a 9.875 in the second spot before Coen delivered a career-high 9.975 performance in the third spot. Drayton continued to have a day and put up her third score of 9.9+ on the day, earning a 9.900 in the fourth spot. Ulrich added another 9.900 in the fifth spot before Zeiss finished with a 9.850 in the anchor spot to close out a 49.550 floor rotation for the Tigers.

   Three Tigers took home event titles on the day as Drayton won her fourth career vault title, Coen took home her first ever career title on floor and Chio secured her 12th career beam title and ninth this season with her perfect score. She now sits at 50 titles in her career and 28 this season.

   Chio nears the record for most individual beam titles in a single season held by Sarah Finnegan with 11 in 2019. The sophomore can match that record with two just two more beam titles this season. 

   No. 2 LSU will hit the road for another top five battle amongst the SEC’s best next week, this time against No. 4 Florida at 5 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 8 on SEC Network.

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