Tag: D-D Breaux

LSU gymnastics’ Jay Clark named Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year

Jay Clark was honored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl after leading LSU to its lone NCAA title in 2023-24.

After leading the LSU gymnastics team to its first national title in program history this spring, coach [autotag]Jay Clark[/autotag] is unsurprisingly bringing home some state-level honors.

On Friday, Clark was named the Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Clark, who previously served as the head coach at Georgia from 2009-12 and an assistant at LSU from 2013-19, has been the Tigers coach since he replaced [autotag]D-D Breaux[/autotag]. Under Clark, LSU has reached the Four on the Floor in the last two seasons and won its first national title this year.

The gymnastics championship was LSU’s lone national title from the 2023-24 athletic calendar.

Though the Tigers are set to lose several of the bulwarks from this year’s team, most notably star [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag], they should be nationally competitive once again as they bring back some young talent, as well.

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What to know before LSU gymnastics competes for national title

Here are a few things to know before the NCAA championships.

For the ninth time in program history, LSU gymnastics is competing for a national title.

LSU scored a 197.145 in the semis and advanced along with Florida in Session 1. From Session 2, Utah and Oklahoma advanced to the NCAA Championship.

This was a year with plenty of ups and downs for LSU. The team was never completely healthy and was streaky. Yet, in spite of that, it will get to play for it all on Saturday.

LSU is led by head coach [autotag]Jay Clark[/autotag], who took over for legend [autotag]D.D. Breaux[/autotag] in 2020.

Here are the storylines to watch as LSU competes on the sport’s biggest stage.

Breaking down the 5 LSU teams that have undergone coaching changes since 2020

Each of LSU’s major sports has undergone coaching transitions in the last two years. Let’s take a look at all of them.

Since August 2020, what could be considered LSU’s five major sports have all undergone coaching changes.

Those five sports are football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, and gymnastics.

The situations leading to each change were wildly different, and sometimes not even in the same stratosphere. Nonetheless, the changes did occur and the athletic department looks a whole lot different than it did when 2020 began.

Gymnastics was the first to transition and also the most seamless, when [autotag]D-D Breaux[/autotag] retired, associate head coach [autotag]Jay Clark[/autotag] was tabbed to assume the head position.

Next, in what was the most impressive hire, [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] came to LSU after building a dynasty at Baylor. Not long after that, [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] was hired to helm the baseball program after the retirement of [autotag]Paul Mainieri[/autotag].

I doubt many people need refreshers on what happened in football or men’s basketball, given how dramatic and high-profile each situation was, but [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] took over after a wild conclusion to the [autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag] era. Most recently, [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] was hired after the [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag] saga came to an inevitable ending.

With all five coaches now in place, let’s take a look back at each transition, and where each sport stands going forward.

LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux announces retirement after 43 years

Breaux is officially departing from the program.

LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux announced her retirement on Tuesday after 43 years, effective immediately.

Tigers co-head coach Jay Clark will replace Breaux beginning next season.

Called the ”Dean of LSU Coaches,” Breaux leaves as the longest tenured coach in any sport in the SEC. She has built the LSU gymnastics program into a national powerhouse over the course of her nearly half-century career.

During her time as coach, Breaux has coached over 200 gymnasts and led the program to 15 individual NCAA Championships. The gymnasts she has coached have won 44 SEC titles, with 266 All-Americans and 91 All-SEC honors.

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Over 43 years, the Tigers’ leader has amounted over 800 total wins and the program has placed in the top-10 nationally 31 times during her tenure.

The Tigers’ gymnastics team finished in second place in 2016, 2017, and 2019, third place in 2014, fourth in 1988 and 2018, and fifth place nationally in 2008 and 2013.

Breaux leaves an LSU program that has won the SEC title three years in a row. She led the Tigers to the inaugural SEC Championship in 1981, and then led them to three straight conference titles in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

She has won the SEC Coach of the Year Award nine times in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019. Breaux has also been awarded the NCAA Central Regional Coach of the Year nine times in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017.

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During her final four seasons, the Tigers averaged at least 10,000 fans at every home meet and finished top five nationally over the past seven years in attendance. The gymnastics program owns two sellouts and four meets with 13,000-plus fans in the history of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Her coaching career ends with eight NCAA Championship Finals Appearances, 35 consecutive NCAA Regional Appearances, 19 regional titles, seven SEC gymnasts of the year, six SEC Championships, and many more accolades.

Breaux’s legacy at LSU will last forever. While she won’t be seen coaching the gymnastics program anymore, she plans to remain at LSU as an ambassador with the athletics department.

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