National signing day brings some surprises — Redemption for Deng Yalan

Wednesday was National Signing Day, which means that athletes headed to the NCAA next year finalized their commitments.

In gymnastics, in many cases, we know from athletes’ verbal commitments nearly a year prior to their official signing days where they will go. But it’s still a thrill to see the announcements roll out, and there are always a few big surprises. 

This year, Dulcy Caylor making it official with Florida was one such surprise. Caylor was, of course, also a surprise for this year’s U.S. delegation to the world championships in Jakarta, and she was named a five-star recruit for her class by College Gym News earlier this year. 

The Gators also chomped three other five-stars along with Caylor: Simone Rose, Jayla Hang, and Kieryn Finnell. 

Among our other top finishers in the NCAA last year, several nabbed big-name additions to their rosters. 

Four five-star recruits chose Oklahoma: Presley Duke, the number-one recruit in her class, per CGN; Madray Johnson; Evey Lowe and Sofia Estrada. Izzy Stassi and Kendall Torrens, both four-stars, will also head to Norman in the fall.

UCLA snagged three five-star recruits: Zoey Molomo, Michelle Pineda and Cameron Tassone, and will also add three-stars Brooke Katz and Jolyn Sicat Valeros. 

Missouri, the 2025 Cinderella team at Four on the Floor, will add two five-stars, Kendall Morgan and Imani White. 

Utah picked up Canadian gymnast Gabrielle Black, also a five-star. 

Five-star recruits usually have their pick of top schools, and those who did not choose the final four still went name-brand. Alicia Zhou and Raeya Linton are off to Stanford; Audrey Snyder and Ella Fine to Auburn; Morgan Riehl to Clemson and Oaklie Deputy to Ohio State. 

Cal surprised us. After a season of losing recruits to Clemson after the former Golden Bears coaches made that cross-country move, the program announced four strong recruits, plus Maddison Haijar, who will join the team a year ahead of schedule for the 2026 season. 

But one surprise stands out in a less positive way — Hezly Rivera, the U.S. national champion who announced a verbal commitment to LSU, has not yet made it official. Injury kept Rivera out of contention for worlds, and I’m wondering now if she will redshirt (though that would still involve a signing) or delay college entirely until 2028, after the next Olympic Games.

These are, of course, just a select few of the gymnasts we’ll see on rosters starting in 2027. Check out CGN for the most up-to-date information on every commit. Congratulations to every gymnast who has committed to an NCAA career — you did it! 

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Other gym news:

Signing news dominated this week, but a few other things sneaked through. 

Besides the commitment news, we got a Judge’s Inquiry column on gainer full beam dismounts — something that is very common across the NCAA. 

The Gymternet has results from the South American Championships and the Balkan Championships.  

Five at The IX: Redemption for Deng Yalan

Deng Yalan, whose heartbreak in the vault event final at worlds made us all cry along with her, had a redemptive moment at Chinese nationals: