The 2024 season was one for the record books, underlined by the popularity of the transfer portal and the star-studded freshman class. Among all of the new additions, who were the most impactful on their teams? Our data team looked to answer this through a variety of data points, including routines contributed, events competed, high scores (9.9 or above) contributed, and how their scores stacked up against the rest of their team.
Methodology
We first compiled basic scoring data (highs and averages) for all gymnasts for the 2024 season. We then flagged freshmen and transfers. Our editors then analyzed the data to pick out the transfers and freshmen who contributed top scores to their teams. This yielded the seven transfers we chose to examine more closely in terms of scoring data. We had more than a dozen freshmen who contributed top scores, so we used contextual lenses to examine who may have made a bigger impact. Were they a highly touted freshman coming in, who was already expected to make a large impact? How many events did they compete? Did they put up top scores on lower-ranking teams? Did they outperform upperclassmen on a top team? After some painful decisions, we reviewed the data for the final time and chose seven freshmen to highlight.
