Paige Anastasi gives insight into the transfer portal — Jordan Bowers, Honda Award winner, answers our questions
By Lela Moore
The IX: Gymnastics Saturday from Lela Moore — July 5, 2025

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Paige Anastasi announced her commitment to Clemson this week. Anastasi competed at UCLA the last two years.
Anastasi also posted a vlog about her experience in the transfer portal, which was interesting both for her honesty about her situation and the details about being in the portal. You can watch it here:
Anastasi starts her vlog by telling her audience not to believe everything they see on social media, and that while her vlogs may have made it look like she loved UCLA and her experience there, she was actually having a very tough time. This is such an important message to put out there and shows an incredible amount of maturity on Anastasi’s part — she is, after all, a content creator presumably making money off her engagement with her fans, and here she is, acknowledging that she wasn’t telling the full story of her experience. Kudos to her.
She also tells us that she was not happy with her major. She wanted to do a marketing major, which UCLA does not have, and that their business major was economics-heavy and Anastasi had a rough time with economics coursework. She tried psychology, noting that it was one of three majors most UCLA athletes pursue (along with sociology and communications), but said it never quite clicked for her. I think this is also a hugely important piece of Anastasi’s transfer story — is a UCLA degree in something that doesn’t excite her worth it when she could have a degree that fits her aspirations beyond gymnastics at another school?

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We learn that Anastasi was pursued by Denver and offered a two-year scholarship, but didn’t feel the school was a good fit and had told them no by the time NCAAs were happening. Minnesota, where Anastasi previously committed two years ago before heading to UCLA instead, also wanted her (and that she had many friends on the team and knew it would work for her). But they could not offer her a scholarship. Then Minnesota’s assistant coaches left and became the new coaches at Cal. They offered Anastasi a scholarship to Cal. Minnesota finally did return with a scholarship offer — but by then, Anastasi was hearing of interest from Clemson. She did three official visits and chose Clemson in the end.
We also hear that Anastasi was not making lineups at UCLA — which anyone watching her vlogs this year could see — and that her chances of making them as a junior, with a stacked incoming freshman class for the Bruins, was even slimmer. She discussed her options with her coaches and decided to move on to somewhere she could compete. I loved this part — Anastasi realized along the way that she truly did want to compete, not just be part of a gymnastics team. This is likely something that a lot of NCAA athletes struggle with, but rarely speak about.
Once she entered the portal, she could no longer work out with the UCLA team, and says she had to find her own gym to use for workouts and her own transportation (since she didn’t have a car on campus). She noted that she lost a lot of motivation and realized that the team piece of NCAAs was very important to her, and influenced her decision of where to transfer.
One thing Anastasi addresses very quickly in this video is the head coach change-up at Clemson; she notes that she believes the new coaching staff is the reason she was recruited there, but talks very little about it otherwise. I plan to write more about Clemson’s coaching situation next week, but suffice to say, I’m more than a little worried about what this team has been through and hope Anastasi’s experience and theirs is truly good for the next couple of years.
Overall, I highly recommend watching this video if you’re looking for a very honest take on the transfer process. I commend Anastasi for putting it all out there.
Other gym news
The Gymternet has the results of the Dutch and Spanish national championships and the American Classic.
College Gym News has a great piece by Julianna Roland about life after college gymnastics, and finding your own way as a former athlete. There’s also 10 bars routines to watch in the offseason and a story about the most memorable floor music in NCAA recently.
Samantha Peszek, 2008 Olympian and current NBC gymnastics commentator, got engaged.
Amelia Disidore has retired from elite gymnastics to focus on NCAA. She is Florida-bound in the fall.
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Five at The IX: Jordan Bowers
I was able to speak to Honda Award winner Jordan Bowers this week in advance of the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards, where the Honda Sport Award winners from 12 NCAA sports gather. Bowers, who competed for the University of Oklahoma for four years, has had a busy spring. She won the NCAA all-around title two weekends after scoring three perfect 10s in the regional final. Oklahoma then won the team title, capping off a redemptive year following a collapse at the 2024 regionals. She won the Honda Award for gymnastics. And then Bowers got married to Raydel Gamboa, a former Oklahoma men’s gymnast, on June 20. Before she jetted off on her honeymoon, she kindly took the time to answer my questions.
Hi Jordan, congratulations on your recent wedding! You have been busy, between the wedding, NCAAs, and the Honda Award. What are your next steps?
Thank you. I extended my undergrad at OU and I will be the new strength and conditioning coach for football and [men’s and women’s] basketball.
Cool! Congratulations. Is that something you’re interested in as a career?
Yes, I’m very interested in the strength and conditioning side of these sports and helping athletes achieve their dreams.
What does winning the Honda Award mean to you, both personally and in terms of your athletic career?
Such a big accomplishment in my life and as a gymnast, and such a great way to end my career. I’m not going on to [elite] so this is my last hurrah. It’s such a bittersweet feeling and to end on a national championship with my team, that was the most amazing thing. Doing it alongside these women…who pushed me to be my best in and outside of the gym.
You had quite a run at Oklahoma. Part of the Honda Award criteria is contributing to team success. How do you think you made yourself a valuable team player?
My leadership played a big role. I tried to be my best self in and out of the gym. You learn from your mistakes [and] try to keep the team going. This year [we had] kind of an underdog mentality. We learned a lot and grew a lot and it made us stronger individually and as a team.
What would your advice be to aspiring NCAA gymnasts who are thinking about college competition — what are things to look for to find a program that suits you?
OU was always my dream school. I would go to OU camps, and I always loved watching those women on TV doing it all together. That’s what I aspired to: team and a family atmosphere. Look for what fits you the most — obviously the program, but also the school, the coaches.
I was really young when I committed, I was 13. You have to be older now, which is good. Take as many visits [as you can], call as many coaches — really get a feel for the program. You want to love the program.
You are someone who came back from a pretty devastating injury in elite to compete all four years in college and end on this high note. Do you have any advice for other gymnasts who are dealing with injuries and setbacks?
Yes. It is ok to take the time off that you need. After I got injured [I] had to take six months off entirely from the sport. If your body needs it, listen to your body and take that time. During that time I lost love for gymnastics but I fell back in love with it [at OU] and I couldn’t be happier with how my career has gone Never give up.
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