Tag: LSU Gymnastics

LSU athletics finishes 13th in final Director’s Cup rankings

LSU athletics finished No. 13 in the Directors’ Cup standings.

The 2023-24 Learfield Director’s Cup rankings were released on Wednesday, with LSU athletics coming in at No. 13.

“The Directors’ Cup gauges the overall success of institution’s athletic programs by awarding points for each team based on its finish in NCAA championships. A maximum of 19 sports are counted, four of which must be men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and baseball.”

Texas, Stanford, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia made up the top five with fellow SEC schools Alabama and Texas A&M making the cut for the top 10 too.

The highlight of LSU’s athletic year was the gymnastics team capturing its first national title in program history. After LSU won titles in women’s basketball and baseball the year prior, the gymnastics title kept LSU’s trend of winning national championships alive.

The championship marked the 52nd national title win in LSU athletics history. Only one SEC school has more.

Women’s basketball and volleyball made strong contributions too with Kim Mulkey’s group making a run to the Elite Eight and the women’s volleyball making it to the national semifinals.

Women’s track and field, both indoor and outdoor, contributed 73.5 points each to LSU’s final Directors’ Cup total. Football and softball, who both finished in the top 15 for their respective sport, provided 64.5 and 64 points, respectively.

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LSU gymnastics’ Jay Clark and Haleigh Bryant named finalists for prestigious Louisiana sports award

Haleigh Bryant and Jay Clark were. both nominated by the Sugar Bowl for prestigious Louisiana awards.

Waves of awards and nominations continue to roll in for LSU’s [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag] after she was the best gymnast in the country and led LSU to a national title in 2024. This time it was the James J. Corbett award, presented annually by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to the top male and female amateur athletes in the state of Louisiana.

Bryant was joined by her coach, [autotag]Jay Clark[/autotag], who received a nomination for the Collegiate Coach of the Year award, given to the top college coach in the state.

The winner of the coaches award will be announced on Friday, June 28 with the Corbett announcement coming not long after on Monday, July 8.

Bryant wouldn’t be the first Tiger to win the Corbett Award. She’d join the likes of [autotag]Susan Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Ashleigh Gnat[/autotag], and [autotag]Sarah Finnegan[/autotag].

If Clark takes home the coaches award, he’d be the second LSU gymnastics coach to do so after [autotag]DD Breaux[/autotag] won in 2017 and 2019.

Also on the Coach of the Year list is former LSU men’s basketball coach [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag], who led McNeese State to a resurgent season and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Former LSU QB and Heisman Trophy winner [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] was named a finalist for the male Corbett Award.

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LSU gymnast Sierra Ballard returning for final season of eligibility

The Tigers are getting at least one key piece back from the 2024 national title squad.

Though LSU is set to lose quite a bit of talent from its 2024 national champion gymnastics squad, it’s getting at least one key piece back.

On Monday, [autotag]Sierra Ballard[/autotag] announced that she will be returning to the Tigers for her fifth and final season of eligibility. A four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and two-time SEC Community Service Team member, Ballard has appeared in every meet for LSU over the last two years in at least one event.

She played a major role in leading the Tigers to their first national title in program history, leading off the final rotation in the national championship with a career-high 9.500 on the beam, an event in which she was named an All-American this season.

“There’s just something different about LSU,” Ballard said in a release. “You can’t put it into words until you come here. If I have an opportunity to continue making history with my best friends, in the best place in this world, then I’m going to do that.”

The Tigers are set to lose some major talent this offseason, including the top gymnast in the nation, [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag]. But with pieces like Ballard, coach Jay Clark’s team could be set to contend once again.

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LSU gymnastics’ Haleigh Bryant wins major national award

LSU’s Haleigh Bryant added to her long list of accolades and took home the Honda Sport Award for gymnastics.

LSU gymnast [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag] continued to add to her endless list of accolades this week.

The senior won the 2024 Honda Sport Award for gymnastics. For 48 years, the award has been presented to the top female athlete in 12 NCAA sports. Each winner becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2024 Honda Cup, which will be awarded in June.

For the gymnastics award, Bryant was accompanied by a finalists list that included Oklahoma’s Jordan Bowers, Oregon State’s Jade Carey, and Florida’s Leanne Wong.

“(Bryant’s) leadership and example have been exemplary and I am so very proud of her earning this award. It’s richly deserved,” LSU head coach [autotag]Jay Clark[/autotag] said in a release.

After leading LSU to a national championship this spring, Bryant announced her return to LSU in 2025, electing to use her fifth year of eligibility. Along with the team title, Bryant won the individual all-around national title and SEC Gymnast of The Year.

Bryant’s 94 career titles rank fifth in program history. Thanks to the extra year granted following COVID, she’ll get a chance to chase the top spot next year.

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Livvy Dunne unveils ‘The Livvy Roll’ at local Baton Rouge sushi restaurant

Livvy Dunne showed off the new roll named after her at a local joint in Baton Rouge.

LSU gymnast [autotag]Livvy Dunne[/autotag] has one of the biggest profiles of any college athlete in the country. With millions of followers on social media, she’s one of the highest-valued athletes in the nation in terms of NIL with a projected valuation just shy of $4 million, per On3.

She has no shortage of big-time deals and recently announced a multi-million dollar agreement with the content creation platform Passes. But sometimes, the little things are the best.

On her Instagram Story, Dunne revealed that she’s had a sushi roll named after her at Drunken Fish Vietnamese Cuisine, a local restaurant in Baton Rouge.

“Guys they’re naming a sushi roll after me at my favorite sushi place,” she wrote in the caption of a photo.

While the roll itself looks intricate, the restaurant website doesn’t describe exactly what is in “The Livvy Roll.”

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Livvy Dunne signs multi-million dollar NIL deal with Passes

Livvy Dunne is signing a deal with Passes, a subscription-based platform for content creators.

LSU gymnast [autotag]Livvy Dunne[/autotag] has been one of the most successful college athletes in the country when it comes to taking advantage of NIL, and now she’s adding another major deal to her repertoire.

On Wednesday, Dunne announced a multi-million dollar deal with Passes, a subscription-based platform for content creators.

“Passes allows me to monetize my creativity and expertise in ways that were previously unavailable to college athletes, which is why I’m so excited to be partnering with them,” Dunne said in a release, according to Forbes. “By offering exclusive content and experiences, I can turn my passion for gymnastics as a college athlete and content creation into a sustainable career path, and build deeper connections with my fans and supporters. I love how Passes is so user-friendly too. It’s intuitive and easy to navigate, making it simple for creators to set up their accounts, create content, and engage with their audience without any technical barriers.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to connect with my fans and show them parts of my life they haven’t seen on other social media platforms. I can’t wait to share behind-the-scenes livestreams and an inside look into my life as a collegiate gymnast. I hope that this empowers other female and NIL athletes to become Passes creators so they can continue to connect with their fans and be entrepreneurial as athletes.”

Dunne is the first college athlete to sign an NIL deal with the platform.

With more than 5 million followers on Instagram and nearly 8 million on TikTok, Dunne has one of the largest platforms of any college athlete and boasts an NIL valuation of $3.7 million, per On3.

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LSU’s Jay Clark is optimistic about future of gymnastics program despite incoming loss of talent

Despite the incoming exodus of talent, Jay Clark is optimistic about next year’s gymnastics squad.

The LSU gymnastics team finally got over the hump in 2024, winning the first national championship in program history with an absolutely loaded roster.

There will be some changes next season, however. The Tigers have 11 gymnasts on the roster who are either seniors or graduate students, including the nation’s top gymnast [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag] as well as [autotag]Kiya Johnson[/autotag] and others.

The cupboard won’t be completely bare in 2025, however, with gymnasts like [autotag]Aleah Finnegan[/autotag], a junior, and [autotag]Konnor McClain[/autotag], a true freshman, set to return. With those pieces, coach [autotag]Jay Clark[/autotag] remains optimistic about the future despite what this team is set to lose.

“I feel really good about the team we have coming back next year,” Clark said, per On3. “Their role will continue to increase and get more and more. I think they’re tremendous, but I feel incredibly optimistic about what we have coming back and the freshman class that’s coming in. I’m excited.”

LSU has reached the final round of the NCAA tournament three times since 2019, and it seems fair to assume this program isn’t going away any time soon even though it has to retool this offseason.

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LSU gymnastics’ Haleigh Bryant named a finalist for 2024 Honda Award

Haleigh Bryant continues to make history at LSU.

After leading LSU gymnastics to its first national championship in program history while also taking home an individual national title in the all around, superstar [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag] could be set to add another piece of hardware.

She’s been named one of four finalists for the Honda Award, given to the top gymnast in the nation. Bryant joins Oklahoma’s Jordan Bowers, Florida’s Leanne Wong and Oregon State’s Jade Carey as finalists.

Bryant also won the AAI Award as the top senior gymnast in the nation, the fourth LSU player to do so, and she becomes just the fourth gymnast in NCAA history to earn a team national championship, all around national title and an AAI Award.

A Honda Award winner is chosen in each women’s sport with the winner in each sport becoming a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, which will be announced in June.

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What LSU gymnastics’ 1st national title means for program

LSU gymnastics won its first national title on Saturday. Here’s what it means for the program.

[autotag]DD Breaux[/autotag] took over LSU gymnastics in 1978.

In the years that followed, LSU became one of the country’s top programs, often finishing top 10 nationally. Year after year, All-Americans came through the program, making LSU a destination for the top up-and-coming gymnasts.

Despite the superstars and LSU competing at the top of the SEC every year, one thing remained elusive — a national title.

Breaux retired in 2019, finishing her career with three straight SEC titles. But after 40+ years at the top of the sport, LSU still lacked a national title. Breaux gave way to her successor, [autotag]Jay Clark[/autotag], and the chase continued.

Long story short, the Tigers’ relentless pursuit of a national title was rewarded on Saturday, and for the first time in program history, LSU gymnastics won a national title.

It may have come a few years after Breaux’s retirement, but this is her title as much as it is Clark’s. Yes, Clark is the one who closed it out, but Breaux built this program and remained a prominent figure in the LSU community even as she stepped away from coaching.

You could see it in Clark and Breaux’s embrace. Clark, who was an assistant on Breaux’s staff for eight years, knows the role Breaux played in this.

Following the competition, Clark said Breaux gave him “an opportunity to join her when I needed one.”

“I felt it was important that when this program won its first national title, that it be hers as well,” he said.

This title cements the legacy of a program that’s always known it can compete at this level, despite the grand prize proving elusive. No longer is that the case.

Winning a national title is hard. Years of coming up just short can take a toll on a program. We’ve seen programs across sports come close, say, “We’ll be back next year” and never get back.

LSU had to say that a lot over the years. Except this program kept coming back. As stars left, new ones shuffled in and LSU stayed in the fight, finally winning it all. This title belongs to all of the ones who have come and gone.

Perhaps the brightest of all those stars is [autotag]Haleigh Bryant[/autotag], who was already one of the best athletes in LSU history entering the weekend. Following a national title, she leaves no doubt about her LSU legacy.

There might be some recency bias here, but Bryant is the best gymnast in LSU history. She’s been the heart and soul of this team for four years. Her personal resume grew longer over the weekend, winning the individual all-around title.

LSU athletics has become accustomed to national titles in recent years. Football took home the title in 2019 before baseball and women’s basketball grabbed trophies of their own in 2023. Gymnastics has arguably been this athletic department’s most consistent product over the last 40 or so years. Now, it has the national title to back it up.

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The best photos as LSU gymnastics wins 1st national championship

For the first time, the LSU Tigers are your gymnastics national champions.

The LSU gymnastics team had reached the final round of the NCAA tournament nine times prior to Saturday’s trip. It came up short in all of them.

The 10th time proved to be the charm, however. LSU ended its futility by capturing the program’s first national championship after a historic season. The Tigers, ranked No. 2 in the country and the favorites in the Four on the Floor event, edged out No. 3 California, No. 5 Utah and No. 4 Florida.

LSU finished with a team score of 198.225 with Haleigh Bryant (vault) and Konnor McClain (balance beam) also recording event-high scores.

Here were the photos as the Tigers are national champions for the first time.