There’s an old saying down in the Bayou that says that you can take the gymnast out of the Tiger but not the Tiger out of the gymnast. Historians dispute its authenticity, but in Nina Ballou’s case there’s little doubt of its veracity. The Tiger has been roaring in her chest since she was nine years old and attended her first LSU gymnastics camp.
Since then, Ballou’s grown to become one of the best gymnasts in the class of 2025. She medaled in the all around at the last three national championships—including winning gold in 2022—and qualified twice to the Nastia Liukin Cup. She boasts career highs of 9.900 or better on three events and is the No. 4 recruit in her class.
Thanks to her exceptional career, when her recruiting process began in June she received phone calls from the best schools in the country. Many offers were attractive, yet no school felt as right as LSU.
As she chose the colleges she wished to visit, Ballou was methodical about the process. Given her busy schedule, she decided to concentrate on her top choices. “I kept who I was talking to pretty minimal,” she explained. “I wanted to be able to give every college I was interested in my 100%.” Additionally, she didn’t want to take away any visits from fellow gymnasts whose…
