Haleigh Bryant knew LSU was poised for a special, and maybe even historic, season long before the competition began.
It was early September and the team was at a weekend retreat (or “team preview,” as the Tigers call it) in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The trip was a chance for the team to relax and have fun before the hustle and bustle of the school year and season, and to build trust and relationships. For Bryant, he did that and more.
“We literally talked about everything and got very close during those moments,” Bryant, a senior, told ESPN. “We became very vulnerable with each other. We talked about difficulties, past experiences, everything. And we realized that we all want exactly the same thing, every person on this team, and it was very motivating to hear that. It was an incredible starting point and I knew that we were just going to move forward from there.
The 2024 season has been nothing short of spectacular so far for the Tigers, who averaged the highest attendance in NCAA gymnastics at 12,590 during their six home meets. After spending most of the year ranked in the top three in the country and setting a new team high score of 198.475 in February, LSU won its fifth SEC championship title last month. Five gymnasts, including all-around and vault champion Bryant, won at least a share of an event title. Then, earlier this month, the team won the NCAA regional championship in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to advance to the NCAA semifinals in Fort Worth, Texas.
On Thursday, in the first semifinal session (4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2), the Tigers will look to get one step closer to what they have been singularly working toward since that September weekend: the program's first national title.
“Every time we go to the gym, we obviously have in the back of our mind our main goal of winning a national championship,” Bryant said. “So we go every day and try to improve by 1%. Because if we improve by 1%, we are 1% closer to our main goal in the end… We have been very motivated all year and we are so determined to achieve that ultimate goal.”
LSU has come close to that goal before, even coming in second four times. But the Tigers have never been the last team standing, the one immortalized in images and videos as confetti falls from the arena rafters.
This year, LSU has one of the deepest and most talented teams in the country and has been considered a title favorite since the start of the season. The results – a 25-3 overall record, an undefeated season at home and the second-highest national ranking score in the country (396.465) – have only further fueled that belief.
Perhaps no other gymnast in the country has received as much attention as Bryant, and for good reason. The 22-year-old became the school's all-time leader in perfect 10.0 scores during her junior season and posted the score eight more times (at least once in each event) in 2024, for a total of 18. the regular season as the top-ranked athlete in the country and tied for first place on vault.
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LSU celebrates McClain's Perfect 10 and SEC title
Freshman Konnor McClain's flawless routine on the balance beam was one of the highlights of a big night for the Tigers in the SEC championship game.
But LSU is much more than Bryant, and she is quick to bring any talk of her own accomplishments to the team. There's fifth-year senior Kiya Johnson, who returned from a season-ending Achilles injury in 2023 to claim a share of the SEC title last month. Freshman phenom and 2022 US National Champion Konnor McClain has lived up to the hype with perfect-scoring performances on bars and shines with the SEC title on the latter. KJ Johnson (floor) and Ashley Cowan (bars) won SEC titles. Junior Aleah Finnegan has earned a perfect score on floor three times and has anchored the team on beam.
And then there's graduate student Savannah Schoenherr, who transferred from Florida and made an immediate impact on vault and bars, freshman Amari Drayton, who posted scores of 9.925 or higher six times this season on vault and floor and on social media and NIL superstar Olivia Dunne. , who has become a constant in the team's lineup this season. The list goes on and on.
In fact, the team's staggering amount of depth has been the biggest obstacle this season for head coach Jay Clark. With only six gymnasts competing in each event, and with gymnasts like Bryant, Johnson and now Finnegan frequently doing all four, it has become difficult for gymnasts (even those capable of high scores) to simply crack the lineup in any given week.
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Finnegan achieves first Perfect 10 of the season against Auburn
Aleah Finnegan earns her third career Perfect 10 on floor as LSU beats Auburn, 198.300-197.100, to improve to 6-2.
“We knew it was going to be tough because everyone wants to compete and everyone wants to contribute to what we're doing,” Clark, the 2024 SEC Coach of the Year, told ESPN. “So getting everyone on that page and getting them to embrace any role they are in was the biggest challenge for us this year. We have really tried to celebrate many of the little things that are not necessarily on a score sheet in our weekly. We point out the achievements and contributions that each individual makes on a weekly basis. team meeting and make sure everyone knows how valuable they are to the process and the progress we are making.”
Clark knows that some gymnasts have been disappointed and has tried to ensure those people have the opportunity to express their emotions or frustration without bringing negativity to the gym. She tries to avoid emphasizing individual awards or recognition and instead focuses on the overall team's achievements and goals. It's a balancing act, one he admits he hasn't quite perfected. But according to Kiya Johnson, everyone on the team can see the bigger picture.
“I think everyone knows that even if you're not in a lineup, you're contributing to the success we have as a group on Friday nights, because at the end of the day, you're pushing people to be better who are in the lineup. “Johnson told ESPN. “I really feel like the team 100% thinks that. Everyone is working just as hard because you never know when you're going to get called on and you're going to have to step up. And even if it never is, I think everyone has the same level of happiness. every time we achieve the big goals we set for ourselves as a team because we know that we are all working together to achieve it every day and that everyone is important.
Johnson said this is the most connected and supportive team he has been on in his five years at the school. He said he “can't explain” why, but it's just a “deeper level” of respect, trust and desire to be close to each other. “We are each other's biggest cheerleaders in and out of the gym,” she said.
Like Bryant, she also believes the weekend retreat in Gulf Shores set everything in motion. She was paired with junior Tori Tatum for a beach workout in September, and they shared what each thought she would need during the season. Johnson, coming off his devastating injury, didn't want to put too many expectations on himself and wanted to give himself grace and time to take care of himself. Tatum has continued to check on all of those things at least once a week with text messages and conversations before and after practice.
“It's been invaluable,” Johnson said.
No matter how close the team is, or how much they want it, winning in Fort Worth won't be easy.
First, the Tigers will have to finish in the top two in Thursday's semifinal against No. 3 California, No. 7 Arkansas and No. 8 Stanford to advance. In a postseason already filled with surprises and upsets, that might be easier said than done.
If they do, they will likely face Oklahoma as a bottom-four team on Saturday. The undefeated Sooners are two-time defending champions and have been the top-ranked team all season. While LSU is among the favorites, it is undeniable that Oklahoma is he favorite to lift the trophy, once again.
But LSU comes to Texas brimming with confidence in a way it hasn't always done in previous years. For Clark, winning the SEC championship was another important goal for the team this season, and one he emphasized from the beginning. In addition to bragging rights at the sports conference and among his fanatical fans, he knew he would show his team how good they were.
With four SEC teams among the final eight nationally (Florida and Alabama will compete in the second semifinal session (9 p.m. ET on ESPN2) on Thursday), LSU's conference title became even more impressive.
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LSU senior Haleigh Bryant near perfect on vault
Haleigh Bryant continues to shine as LSU's anchor with a 9.95 on vault against Alabama.
Despite an illness that forced several LSU gymnasts to miss some practices after the SEC, Bryant said she could feel a difference between her teammates after the win and that only strengthened her focus on what was first written time all those months ago at the team retreat in Gulf. Coasts.
“Every team's goal is probably to win a national championship, but I feel like there's something different about this team,” said Bryant, who will decide whether to return for a fifth year after the season. “When you're having a tough day, the goal of bringing back a national championship to a program that's never won a national championship before is what gets you fired up and excited. We're going to do everything we can to try to achieve that goal that have”.
