The SEC is one of the most prolific and successful conferences in college gymnastics, containing three of the seven teams who have ever won an NCAA gymnastics championship. However, in recent years these traditional powerhouses have started to shift, with the old guards becoming dormant and new teams rising to the top of the conference.
Alabama: New beginnings
Alabama is the second most decorated SEC program, having six national championships and 10 conference championships—the most recent of which came in upset fashion in 2021. Alabama was in a unique position under longtime head coach Dana Duckworth, always staying near the top of the conference, ready to strike whenever a top team made mistakes. Under Duckworth, the Crimson Tide experienced great success, not falling below third at the conference championship during her tenure in Tuscaloosa.
However, in 2022, Duckworth’s reign came to somewhat of an unceremonious end when she hastily retired, leaving the historic program without major leadership. Then steps in the heir apparent, former Crimson Tide gymnast and Auburn associate head coach Ashley Johnston. Johnston came to Tuscaloosa after an impressive tenure of her own at Auburn (we’ll get into the details of that later), ready to bring the team back to its…
