MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — The 2025 gymnastics season was the first in which the SEC had nine teams, but only eight qualified for the conference championship meet.

Arkansas was the odd team out after finishing ninth in the conference by National Qualifying Score, calculated by taking a team’s top six overall scores — three of which must be away from home — then dropping the top score and averaging the remaining five.

It was the first time in the league’s history that every team did not participate at the conference championship meet, and it was the only conference in which that happened.

Beginning in 2026, however, all SEC gymnastics programs will compete.

“All nine will be invited,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said at the conclusion of the league’s spring meetings Thursday. “Noting just the high level of competition and the impact on some of the score opportunities, it’s important for all of us to compete together.”

The Razorbacks’ NQS was ninth in the league but 16th in the country, meaning a team that did not qualify for its conference tournament was still a national seed in the NCAA postseason.

Arkansas was the only team not competing during conference championship weekend, giving it one less opportunity than every other team to boost its NQS before the NCAA Championships.

The Razorbacks tried to add a meet at Oregon State, which held a final meet against Fisk University because it is the only member of the Pac-12, but the NCAA did not permit Arkansas to add the competition after a request and subsequent appeal.

For 2026 and beyond, there will be an afternoon session of competition with four teams and a night session with the remaining five. A bye rotation will presumably be used for the session with an odd number of teams.

Sankey also announced the league would begin exploring a neutral site to host the SEC softball tournament in 2027 and beyond.

Christina Long

Christina Long is the editor of Hawgs Illustrated magazine. She has previously covered Arkansas athletics for the Southwest Times Record and Clemson athletics for the Greenville (S.C.) News. Long is a member of the Association for Women in Sports Media, Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

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Snohomish United is helping aspiring professional soccer players reach their dreams.

BUTTE VALLEY — The Butte College men’s soccer team has now had seven players transfer to the four-year level from its team, which finished runner up in the California Community College Athletic Association state championship.

The latest to do so are Hayden Teixeira, Marco Arduino and Tommaso Duri.

Teixeira signed with Division II Harding University, Arduino signed with NAIA Texas Wesleyan University and Duri signing with D-II Florida Southern College in a ceremony Friday at Butte College.

Roadrunners’ coach Ross Sandberg said the trio’s versatility stood out to coaches in the recruiting process.

Teixeira played six different positions for the Roadrunners his sophomore season, with Sandberg saying he possesses the skill to play striker, wing or center midfield at the next level. Arduino arrived to Butte College in 2023 and played left back, and as a sophomore he was moved to center defensive midfield and he received First-Team All Conference honors. Duri was a striker in 2023 as a freshman, and after spring practices and games he was moved to right back as a sophomore and received Second-Team All Conference honors.

“Their versatility and work ethic, our tradition of moving guys on, the reputation of Butte and me in being very honest about their level was all key,” Sandberg said. “These sophomores are graduating and moving on and have created such a legacy from this season that we have a target on our back as big as it’s ever been. The incoming freshman and freshman becoming sophomores next year understand how high the bar is.”

When the three players were asked why they chose the school they did, each player had a unique answer.

Arduino said he was looking to go to a school in a big city, and Texas Wesleyan offered him the chance to live in Dallas while still being able to play soccer at a high level. The school is also a nationally ranked school for his major — psychology.

For Duri his choice to play at Florida Southern was largely location-based as well.

“South Florida was a top place if I had to choose,” Duri said. “There’s sun all the time, and it’s closer to home. We can take direct flights back home to Europe and the jet leg is less, so that was a big part of it.”

For Teixeira he chose Harding in Arkansas because of the high level of soccer and his connection with the coach, but academics were important as well. Harding has a good computer science program that Teixeira will be majoring in.

All three players had unique stories on why they chose the schools they did, but all three players talked about the family culture Butte College gave them and how living alone for the first time helped them grow as people.

“It was a big step to come here to Butte because it’s the first time I lived by myself,” Arduino said. “I met all nice guys and a nice coach, and the main part is we are a family here at Butte.”

Teixeira shared similar comments, but also talked about what he learned in his time at Butte College.

“What I learned most is to stay dedicated and to keep working, because if you work hard then you’ll get the results,” Teixeira said. “In that postseason run we came up against some good opposition. It was really good to play against them and see the level and teams we don’t play against in our conference.”

Teixeira and Duri appeared in all 27 games for the Roadrunners, and Arduino appeared in 26 of 27 games after having to sit out one game due to too many yellow cards.

In their sophomore season Teixeira had five goals and six assists, Arduino scored three goals and had three assists, and Duri had one goal.

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