Jun. 18—University of Washington transfer Emily Innes was set to join the Louisiana State women’s gymnastics team for the 2026 season, announced by the program last month.
The Plum grad spent her first three seasons at Washington prior to signing with LSU.
“I am incredibly grateful to be at LSU for my senior year,” Innes said in a news release. “Throughout my transfer process, it was important for me to find a program where I felt challenged and inspired. LSU offers all of that and more.”
This past season, Innes was named to the all-Big Ten team on floor and to the Big Ten all-championship team. Innes owns career highs of 9.875 on vault, 9.900 on beam and 9.950 on floor.
As a sophomore, Innes was the NCAA regional floor champion after notching a career-high 9.950 on the event at the 2024 Berkeley Regional.
“LSU stood out to me because of the amazing coaching staff, sense of family, and passion,” Innes continued. “Being a part of a team that consistently competes at the highest level excites me and I look forward to competing against some of the best teams in the nation and contributing to this program’s legacy of excellence. I am ready to grow, compete, and give everything I have in this next chapter as a Tiger!”
LSU qualified for the final weekend of the NCAA championships this past season. The Tigers won the national title in 2024 and were third in 2023. LSU has won the Southeastern Conference title in five of the past eight years.
Monroeville native guides Youngstown State to national title
A Monroeville native and a 1999 graduate of Gateway High School, head coach Doug Kuberski guided Youngstown State women’s bowling to its first national title earlier in April.
The Penguins won the NCAA tournament in Last Vegas, knocking off defending national champion Jacksonville State.
“Just really proud and grateful, and it’s starting to sink in for the ladies. Just a complete team effort, and I’m really happy that we can all experience this together,” Kuberski told the Tribune Chronicle and Vindicator by phone after the match.
The title was YSU’s first national championship ever in a women’s sport and its first in any sport since 1997.
This was the Penguins’ second straight trip to the Final Four and third time in five seasons.
North Hills grad picks up national title as an assistant
Nick Smith, a North Hills grad, is an assistant coach with Division II Nova Southeastern men’s basketball.
The Sharks won the NCAA championship earlier this spring. During his first season in 2022-2023, Smith helped guide Nova Southeastern to the sixth undefeated national championship season in NCAA Division II history, as NSU finished that campaign a perfect 36-0 and won the program’s first national title. In 2023-24, the Sharks lost in the national title game on a buzzer-beater.
In three seasons as assistant coach the Sharks are 104-4.
Do you know of a Pittsburgh-area Division I athlete who earned a weekly conference honor, won a conference championship or qualified for a national tournament? Also, any NCAA All-American news can be forwarded to kmurphy@post-gazette.com.
© 2025 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit www.post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.