Over the past few seasons, the standard of women’s NCAA gymnastics has increased exponentially, and getting a coveted spot on one of the teams is no small feat. College coaches only recruit the top 3% of high school gymnasts in the country, meaning that landing one of the 756 available scholarships across D-I and D-II programs is a huge achievement. Since even securing a walk-on spot at a top school requires high-level skills, how do clubs around the country prepare the level-10 gymnasts who want to pursue gymnastics at the collegiate level?
At GymCats in Henderson, Nevada, Jill Preston, the JO team director, brings over 25 years of experience. Among the club’s notable alumnae are Cristal Isa (Utah ‘23), Selena Harris (UCLA ‘25), and Delaynee Rodriguez (Kentucky ‘26). The current cohort of level 10s at GymCats boasts four CGN-rated recruits: Kailin Chio (LSU ‘24), Macy McGowan (UCLA ’24), Deziray Boykin (uncommitted ‘24), and Kimmara Echols (Missouri ‘25 ). Even with such a strong group of athletes, Preston underscored that success comes from more than just rigorous training schedules and perfecting routines. “We are led by [their] actions towards [their] goals,” she said. “So we’re never gonna push anything on them. But if they have certain…
