As of June 15, gymnasts in the class of 2027 are permitted to commit to NCAA gymnastics programs. 

While these gymnasts will not be competing for their respective colleges until the 2028 season, a number of them will be busy competing elite through the summer and fall. As we head into the recruiting period for the class of 2027, there is no time like the present to familiarize ourselves with the gymnasts that may be committing to top programs and making up the next class of college gymnastics legends. 

Claire Pease – USA

For American fans, Claire Pease will be the most familiar name among the class of 2027 gymnasts. The WOGA standout burst onto the elite scene as a junior in 2024, winning the all-around titles at Winter Cup and U.S. Classic before becoming the U.S. junior all-around champion. 

In her first year as a senior, Pease has already started to turn heads, winning the beam title at Winter Cup and the Antalya World Cup. While she has struggled a bit with consistency in 2025, when she hits, her exquisite technique sets her apart from her peers, especially on bars and beam.

Pease is currently qualified to the U.S Championships on vault and beam, but she is still in the hunt for an all-around berth. Look out for Pease’s sky-high Silivas on floor, inbar and Endo work on bars, and her packed-with-connections beam routine. With stars like Simone Biles and Suni Lee on hiatus after the Olympic year, Pease will be looking to challenge for a podium spot at nationals in August.  

Lia Monica Fontaine – Canada

Along with Pease, Lia Monica Fontaine is probably the most decorated gymnast of the class, winning every Canadian Championships all-around title she has competed for since 2022. 

Fontaine has taken 2025 by storm, winning this year’s Canadian Championship all-around title with a 54.316 – the highest all-around total of her career – while also taking home titles on vault and floor. 

Fontaine’s double-twisting Yurchenko is easily one of the best we have seen this year, with a huge block and superb twisting form leading her to one of the best vault scores – 14.150 – that anyone has posted this season. Her power carries over to floor, where she competes a jam-packed routine complete with a Silivas and a front full through to double tuck.

Fontaine was named to the Canadian Pan American Championships team, where she placed second in the all-around and qualified for every event final. She went on to win the floor final with a 13.8 – one of the best international floor scores this season. After Pan Ams, she will come home immediately eligible to commit to a college program should she choose. Barring injury, the young star seems to be all but a lock for the Canadian Worlds team this coming fall.

Alyssa Guerrier Calixte – Canada

Although a rough beam performance during day one of the 2025 Canadian Championships kept her off the overall podium, Alyssa Guerrier Calixte posted the third-highest all-around score of the day on day two of the competition, behind only Fontaine and 2026 Utah commit Gabrielle Black. 

Guerrier Calixte’s standout event is floor, where she won a silver medal at both this year’s International Gymnix and Canadian Championships. While she competed hard skills like a full-twisting double tuck and a Gomez turn, the real treat is in her expressive performance and dynamic choreography.

Along with Fontaine and Black, Guerrier Calixte was sent to Panama for Pan Ams, where she earned the sixth-highest all-around score (but the two-per-country rule kept her from officially placing), along with helping Canada win the team silver medal. While the two-per-country rule kept Guerrier Calixte from getting a reserve spot in the final, keep an eye out for her beam routine over the rest of the season – she has struggled to put all of the pieces together so far this year, but with a routine boasting a front handspring to front tuck, double turn, and double tuck dismount, she is due for big scores if she can hit.

Reese Esponda – USA

Reese Esponda gained notoriety among gymnastics fans in 2024 for her difficult floor routine, which included a Silivas, double layout, full-twisting double tuck, and a front tuck to double tuck – but this only scratches the surface of her potential on the event.

The Montana native went viral in early 2024 after posting a video of her performing a triple tuck onto a mat in the pit at a national team camp. The triple back is not the only unique skill Esponda has performed, however. She turned heads earlier this year when she debuted a front layout half to double tuck at an elite qualifier.

Esponda is no stranger to going viral either, with a 2023 video of her performing a side aerial to layout step-out to tuck full series on beam amassing over 14,000 likes. On top of all of this, Esponda originated a skill – the backwards butterfly jump on floor – that was added to the Code of Points after she performed it at the 2024 Baku World Cup (it was not named after Esponda due to its ‘B’ value – skills need to be rated at least ‘C’ to be named).

While Esponda is not currently qualified to nationals, her recent 51.700 all-around score at the Coastal Realm Elite Qualifier has qualified her for the American Classic and U.S Classic, giving her ample opportunity to earn her way there.

Lia Redick – Canada

After starting off her 2025 elite campaign with a bang, placing third in the all-around at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge and winning silver on beam in the accompanying Mixed Cup, Lia Redick had a fairly unsavory Canadian Championships, ending the competition in eighth.

Despite this, she was named to the Pan Ams team for the second year in a row. While a low difficulty score relegated her to sixth place in last year’s junior Pan Am beam final, Redick came back with a new and improved routine to win the event as a senior this year with a personal best international score of 13.267.

While her beam routine – fueled by a back handspring mount and a triple series – has been her highest scoring and most successful event in competition this year, Redick has the makings of a successful NCAA competitor on the other events. Her front layout to back 2.5 twist on floor and solid Yurchenko full look lineup ready for a number of college programs.

Ema Kandalova – Great Britain

Looking back to 2023, Ema Kandalova was a key junior gymnast for Great Britain, finishing third in the all-around at the European Youth Olympic Festival and being named to the British junior Worlds team. 

With a British elite season yet to feature a Downie, Gadirova, or Kinsella, Kandalova was picked as part of the DTB Pokal Team Challenge squad in her first year as a senior. She made the most of the opportunity, bringing back bronze medals from the team competition and beam final. 

Beam has been Kandalova’s most successful event since she turned senior, adding a silver at the 2025 British Championships to her DTB Pokal medal. She competes a clean, composed routine that features a switch leap mount and a split leap full.

With so many British gymnasts looking like they plan to take the year off, look out for Kandalova to gain some more international experience during her senior debut.

Natalia Jacoby – Serbia

Since switching to compete for Serbia, the Ohio-based Natalia Jacoby has earned numerous international assignments, including a spot on the Serbian team at this year’s European Championships. 

Jacoby has close ties to gymnastics legend Svetlana Boginskaya, who coached her at Euros. As the only Serbian gymnast to compete at Euros, a spot on their Worlds team seems all but inevitable. If she makes it to Jakarta, watch out for her floor routine, which is performed to the same music as Silvia Mitova’s iconic 1992 Olympic routine (and her daughter Jessica Hutchinson’s 2023 tribute). 

When not competing for Serbia, Jacoby trains alongside current elites Kelise Woolford, Avery Moll, and Jazlene Pickens at Buckeye Gymnastics in Ohio. While an ankle injury has hampered her difficulty scores so far this season, Jacoby’s technique has still shone through, particularly on bars and beam – the latter of which she starts off with a back handspring mount.

Penn State is headed into the 2025-26 season with seven new additions to its roster. 

Last fall, the blue and white battled through postseason play, making it to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. While the Nittany Lions fell 2-1 in overtime against UNC, they had an entertaining showing, beating Stony Brook, TCU and Vanderbilt in the first three rounds of the tournament. 

While the team went 15-7-3,  earning their spot in the Elite Eight for the second year in a row, they lost several players for several reasons such as moves to the National Women’s Soccer League, graduating members and transfers. 

With players leaving, also comes the arrival of new athletes and in Penn State’s situation, seven of them. Here’s seven new players to keep an eye on as the Nittany Lions look to grab an NCAA title.

Nicole Crane, forward

The Glen Rock, New Jersey, native played for World Class FC prior to signing with the blue and white. Throughout her career so far, Nicole Crane has proved to be a significant dominating factor.

The freshman forward was named to the 2022 and 2024 All-Conference New England Team. Along with that selection, she was on the U17 National Team Roster and 2024 ECNL All-American team. 

The 5-foot-6 freshman was named All-State and Conference Player of the Year en route to a 2024 High School All-American selection while playing at Depaul Catholic High School.

Kennedy Ring, forward

Kennedy Ring has roots in East Greenbush, New York, where she played for Columbia High School. Like Crane, she played for World Class FC throughout her time in club soccer. 

Ring was named a two-time ECNL All-American and ECNL Player of the Year. Receiving many decorations, and proving to be a wrecking force on the offensive for her teams, she was named to the U17 and U19 National teams, while she currently is a member of the U19-U20 player pool.

Riley Cross, midfield

Riley Cross is one of three new midfielders coming to Happy Valley and slots in as the highest-ranked recruit in the class. 

Like Ring and Crane, the Chatham, New Jersey, native also has national team experience — the 5-foot-8 midfielder has attended U15 and U17 training camps with U.S. Soccer and was named an alternate to the 2024 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.

She played for Oak Knoll High School for her first three years, earning first team All-Conference honors twice and contributing a total of 55 goals in her first two seasons. 

Senior year she joined Chatham High School, where she was named Conference Most Valuable Player and led her team to a state championship. 

Hannah Jordan, midfield

Hannah Jordan comes all the way from Southlake, Texas, where she attended Southlake Carroll High School. The 5-foot-4 midfielder contributed to a 2022 UIL 6A State Championship and was named a first team All-District selection four times. 

Club-wise, Jordan represented Solar SC, leading her team to two ECNL National Championships. She was named ECNL Conference Player of the Year and an ECNL All-American while also earning a spot on the U.S. Youth National Team.

Lily Ann Phillips, midfield

Lily Ann Phillips, a Hockessin, Delaware, native has always been a Penn State fan and dreamed of representing the blue and white from a very early age, she told The Sentinel. 

She played for Saint Marks High School, serving as the team’s senior captain. She was named a Regional All-American last year and has had her share of appearances at USYNT camps and ID events. 

Phillips played for Penn Fusion SA, where she led her team to the ECNL Final Four. 

Emma Fassora, defense

Emma Fassora calls Louisville, Colorado,  home and is one of two new defenders picked up by Erica Dambach.

 The 5-foot-7 freshman played for Real Colorado and led her team to a North American Cup title back in 2023. Additionally, Fassora contributed to her squad’s Northwest Conference Championship win in 2022.

Fassora has seen the USYNT Talent ID Center a notable three times. In the ECNL, Fassora was named to multiple ECNL Girl’s Northwest All-Conference teams. 

Marlee Raymond, defense

Marlee Raymond stems from Cumming, Georgia, where she played at West Forsyth High School as a two-sport athlete partaking in both basketball and soccer.

Raymond was a key contributor to her school’s 2024 undefeated season and across her career was named All-Region, All-State and two time Defender of the Year.

Raymond represented United Futbol Academy in her club endeavors, receiving ECNL All-Conference honors, and participated on the USYNT U15, U16, U17 and U20 teams. One of her most notable accomplishments lies in her gold medal at the UEFA Tournament just last year. 

College soccer fans have a lot to look forward to as these new forces embark on their collegiate journey and get the chance to contribute to a potential Penn State 2025 national championship run.

MORE SPORTS COVERAGE

This article is part of a series of stories stemming from a lengthy interview with Colorado College coach Kris Mayotte in mid-June. 

Colorado College hockey coach Kris Mayotte mirrors the shifting college hockey landscape around him. 

There will be no shortage of changes coming to college hockey in the 2025-2026 season. As collegiate athletics as a whole adjust to schools now being able to pay athletes directly. Thanks to the approval of the House v. NCAA settlement, college hockey specifically will change with the inclusion of Canadian Hockey League players this coming season.

But the evolution of the sport isn’t just external. Mayotte is evolving as a coach. He reflected on a 2024-2025 season in which CC underachieved and acknowledged he could have handled his team’s undefeated start differently.  

“I think I’m my best when it’s about building belief and optimism and the work that it takes to earn that. But I think when I reflect on last year, and we start 8-0 and I didn’t think we were playing very good hockey, even though we were 8-0. I probably was a little too critical,” Mayotte said. “And not that you can’t be critical, but I don’t think I blended keeping a team grounded with building belief at the same time. I think I was too much about keeping them grounded because I didn’t think we were playing up to our potential.” 

Mayotte kept his reflections and his commitment to maintaining a winning culture in downtown Colorado Springs in mind when hiring Paul Pooley, the former associate head coach at Notre Dame, for the same position at CC. Pooley replaces Peter Mannino, who parted ways with the Tigers in the offseason. Mayotte also hired former Michigan Tech assistant Jordy Murray to the same position at CC following the departure of Andrew Oglevie to Notre Dame.

According to Mayotte, Pooley’s decades of experience around a winning culture for the Fighting Irish were a key factor in his hiring.  

“Bring in a guy like Paul who’s just been around it so much and has such a good feel on what the goals are and what the priorities are, and the experience of keeping it going forward,” Mayotte said. “His experience obviously speaks for itself: seven Frozen Fours, two national championships, and a ton of All-Americans, obviously. So it’s that  background of he’s developed a lot of players, but he’s been around a lot of winning, and this is what it looks like, and this is how you act, and this is what it should feel like.”