At a restaurant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in late May, Brianna Lucas couldn’t stop crying. Eastern Michigan head coach Katie Minasola had just offered her a full scholarship, starting in the fall. The shock was so great that Minasola had to repeat her offer twice. “I’d love for you to have the full-ride,” she told Lucas. “Yes, me too,” Lucas replied. “No, Bri,” Minasola said, placing a hand on her elbow. “I’m officially offering you the full-ride.”
For Lucas, the offer felt like being seen for the first time. A gymnast at Hill’s Gymnastics from 2013 to 2020, she decided to quit the sport during the pandemic, just when she was starting to be recruited by some of the best teams in the country. Once she got back into the gym in 2022, this time at Buckhead Gymnastics in her home state of Georgia, her ultimate goal was to pick up where she left off and try to earn a scholarship at a Division I school. Until Eastern Michigan’s call in late May, though, the colleges that were showing interest in her only had walk-on spots available. To Lucas, then, Minasola’s offer wasn’t simply the fulfillment of a hard-fought dream—it was a reward for her determination to recover her previous level of gymnastics and for the potential she still had in store.
Lucas…
